Lost Without You
by Harry Potter Fan 1994
Summary: Dick Grayson--literally--runs into a strange girl on a lonely road, and she whirls him into a run-for-your-life adventure that he had never believed possible. Full summary inside. RxS. Title may change, and so might the rating. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

If I had a choice, I would probably rate this story T+ for swearing and graphic violence...at least, graphic for me, I'm not sure what the general qualification is. But yeah...you've been warned...

Summary: Dick's journey back to Gotham, delayed from a cancelled flight due to unexplained disturbances, is cut shorter when he literally runs into a lost-looking girl. With unseen forces following them across the country, Dick finds himself running for his life in a terrifying intergalactic game of hide-and-seek.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_"The Citadel is coming up in a few light years, Princess," cackled the foul Gordonian, pacing around the tiny room of the spaceship. "Scared?"_

_Princess Koriand'r glared at him through the one eye that wasn't puffed up and black. "No."_

_The Gordonian sniggered at her, tilting her chin up with his fingernail. "We know you are, Princess, there's no need to hide your fear anymore. There is no escape for you. There is no escape for your planet. They will all die by our hands one way or another..."_

_"You vile, conniving piece of scum! We agreed to a treaty--!"_

_"Treaty, schmeaty. Tamaran has long since belonged to us, the stupid Troqs."_

_"You do not dare call my people Troqs when you yourelf are so cowardly, you are reduced to bounty hunting!"_

_His eyes narrowed. "Bring me my staff," he ordered one of the nearby Gordonians. The Princess knew she was going to get it. Again, she tried to wriggle out of the bonds that had held her strapped to the tiny metal table for the past three days, but it was no use. The Gordonian raised a bright white staff, glowing blue with energy, and brought it down, hard, on her stomach. Koriand'r coughed violently, her ribs in uncontrollable pain. He shocked her in the shoulder with the pointed tip, cutting it half open. She bit her lips to keep from screaming as he beat her. "That should teach you to keep your mouth shut," he hissed. "Get her ready to be moved."_

_Another Gordonian slid under her table and untied her hands from the back. Two more held her down while her hands were rotated to the front, where handcuffs were slapped on. "You try to leave, we have the self-destruct button right here," one Gordonian warned. Koriand'r said nothing._

_As soon as they were out in the hallway, she summoned up the last of her strength and screamed, swinging her arms around and knocking out the Gordonians. Someone heard the commotion and aliens were about to come into the hallway. She had to act fast. Only when she smashed her way out of the spaceship wall, into the deep realms of space, and was blasted away by the fiery wake did she realize that the self-destruct button was still on the ship._

"What do you mean, there aren't any other flights?!" Dick yelled.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there won't be another flight to Gotham for about eight hours. The air traffic has all been disturbed, and no one wants to take any chances. One flight has already crashed. We thank you for your cooperation and--"

"Shit. Just what I need," Dick grumbled, marching away. "I could _drive_ to Gotham before another flight--" _What a brilliant idea. Hmm. Where's the Hertz bus when you need it? Probably blocking airport traffic somewhere..._

* * *

"All we have is that there Honda. You sign the pay-pers?" the rental car owner asked. His accent already annoyed Dick.

"Yeah. Where's the car?"

"O'er there." Dick was already leaving.

"Wait! Ya might want these here keys..." Dick scowled and grabbed the keys from him, stalking away. "Them Gotham people...ain't never knew one who had any manners..."

* * *

Dick was becoming quite the pottymouth. He was driving in complete darkness and still had quite a ways to go to reach Gotham City. He must have been crossing some quiet, very rural town in Nebraska. It was about 4:00 a.m. and he was cranky--the clock fizzled out and came back to life. It was now 99 o'clock.

"Stupid car, of course I get the messed up one..." he growled, pressing buttons.

"Turn left and go sixty miles," his GPS told him coolly. Dick swerved the the left, only to realize there was no road there.

"What the heck? I turn left, I end up in a lake!" he roared at the poor machine.

"Northeast for zero point three feet," the GPS ordered, the voice suddenly warped.

"What?"

"You...havearrived...at...your...destina--" The GPS stopped working completely. The screen just blacked out.

"Perfect. Just perfect." He floored the accelerator in his frustration, not caring about his speed. It was a road in the middle of nowhere after all. Only then did his headlights fall upon a humanoid figure walking across the street, a millesecond before he crashed.

* * *

"No...no...no..." This couldn't be happening. He'd ran over a person. He'd just killed someone. Dick tore out of the car and saw the body lying a few feet away. It was a girl. Long crimson hair spilled everywhere...at least, he hoped it was hair. She was wearing the strangest clothes, like rubber, with shockingly purple go-go boots and a matching tube top and mini-skirt. Her tanned skin was covered in a terrible amount of bruises and cuts, some fresh and others healing. Could he have caused all of those injuries? "Wake up, please..."

The girl's eyes snapped open, completely green, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. They flashed dangerously, and she growled nonsense at him, jumping to her feet. Dick jumped out of the way, utterly freaked out. "Wait! I'm just trying to help!"

She showed no sign that she understood him, and raised both hands, ready to fight. Only then did he realize that she was wearing handcuffs, but strange ones. They went all the way up to her elbows and were a brilliant white, more like metal casts than anything, binding her hands together effectively. She tried to shake them off, but couldn't, her growling becoming more urgent. A beeping sounded in the background, but on closer inspection, it was coming from the handcuffs. "Hold on," Dick told her, running to the car. He dug in his office bag for a paper clip and came back out. The beeping had gotten faster, and the girl was desperately trying to break them, banging her hands on the road.

"Wait a second! Look. Trust me." Her attention turned back to him, menacing again. "I'm going to help you!" Dick caught her hand, but she threw him off, and he flew a good seven feet away. She was _strong_. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take those things off.

The beeping was almost a continuous sound, now. He knew that meant he only had a little time left. Dick ran and gripped her hand again. More out of surprise than trust, she let him pick the lock on the handcuffs. They broke.

Before they fell to the ground, the girl grabbed them and threw them as hard as she could. Not five yards away, while it was sailing, the handcuffs exploded. A couple of seconds later, and the girl would have exploded along with them. She watched the fiery ball as it died down in the air, leaving no indication that there had ever been anything flying through there. Then she stared at Dick, as if not knowing what to make of him. He dropped his paperclip and held up his hands to show he had no weapons. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said.

The girl responded in some warbled, mixed up language that he didn't recognize. _Was _it a language? Or had he hit her in the head and caused her brain damage? _Great...oh great...Bruce is gonna kill me for this lawsuit..._

"Okay. I'm not sure if you can understand me, but why don't you get into the car"--He pointed to the rental car which now had scratched paint from the handcuffs--"and I'll take you to the hospital to get fixed up." He gestured at her bruises.

"_Gordonia_," she hissed at him.

"What?" He didn't have time for this. "Okay, when you decide what you want to do, let me know. I'm gonna try and find the nearest hospital, alright?" Dick slammed the driver-side door, taking a deep breath. First hospital. Then call Bruce. Hospital. Bruce. Better save the grim job for last.

There was a knock at his window. 'The Girl,' as he had now dubbed her, was standing outside, curiously gazing at his car. Did she expect a chivalrous door-opening, chair-pulling, five-star waiter service or what? Dick opened the door, careful not to hit her, and held out his hand. "You know how to work a car, right? You get in, and you sit tight." 'The Girl' didn't look like she understood him, but allowed herself to be carried away. Thank goodness, since she probably could have just thrown him again and that would be the end of that.

Her hands were virtually bruise free, which surprised Dick. Wouldn't they have broken or something, when he'd hit her? She was even bruised and cut where those strange handcuffs had covered her arms. Her wrists had been chafed until they were bright, raw red. Tire tracks, maybe? It made him shudder, to think of the pain of being run over. He focused his eyes elsewhere, trying to get rid of the guilt that harbored in his stomach. She was alive, that was what mattered.

"Sit here. Don't move," he told her. He didn't actually know why he bothered, but 'The Girl' seemed to get the message. Dick climbed back into the driver's seat and started the car, which thankfully, was still working. "Damn. GPS is still shot. What the heck happened?"

She stared at him, and not for the first time he saw that there was something more behind the unintelligible grumbling. "Do you know what's going on?" She turned around and fiddled with the radio curiously. "Or I'm making things up and probably shouldn't be talking to victims of amnesia..."

* * *

Sorry, that was a dumb way to end it, but I hope you like it so far...


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter never showed up in everyone's alerts...I hope it does now...

Is it Gordania or Gordonia? Sorry if the spelling is wrong, hopefully I'll have the right one next chapter.

Hey! Does anyone know all of Raven's powers? Like, does she have telepathy or not? And can she predict the future? Just wondering. Hopefully I'll be able to work in Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy somewhere...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_"Mother! Father!" Koriand'r cried. Burly Gordonians dragged her out of the castle, while she struggled with no avail. Normally Tamaranians were stronger, but an eight-year-old had no chance. "Help me, please!"_

_Her parents' faces were pale and set. Her mother could not even look anymore, burying her face in Myand'r's shoulder. A terrible thought occured to young Koriand'r: were her parents okay with this? Did they want her to go? Had they told the Gordonians to come and get her? It was almost like her old k'norfka was threatening her, because she didn't want to eat her okamp'i. "The Gordonians will come get you if you don't!" Koriand'r had always been so scared, she'd swallowed it without a single complaint afterwards. Her k'norfka had been beheaded after someone had found out what she'd been saying to the royal children._

_But this time, the threat was real._

_Two more Gordonians marched out of an adjoining room, with Koriand'r's sickly sister, Komand'r, in tow. Luand'r began to sob. _

_"Mommy!" Koriand'r hadn't said that in years. "Daddy, please!"_

_"Bring them onto the ship." An even more intimidating alien smirked at the two young girls. "They'll be transported to Gordonia immediately."_

_"NO! MOMMY!"_

_"Shut her up!"_

_The last thing Koriand'r heard was her mother's cry of anguish as her head exploded in pain._

The girl beside Dick whimpered in her sleep. She'd been out for almost twenty minutes, now. Dick wasn't sure if he should've kept her awake so she didn't go into a coma or something, but she looked like she needed the sleep. Her hands kept twitching back to random wounds on her arms and legs, as if she could feel them being inflicted all over again.

"Hey...hey, you..." Dick shook her, but she flinched away from him. "C'mon...it's just a nightmare."

His car started to chug, slowing down drastically, but Dick didn't notice. He was busy trying to wake up the now crying girl. He shook her shoulder, wincing from the scars he could feel. "Wake up..."

The car stopped completely as she opened her eyes. "Dammit! Everything just _has_ to go wrong today, doesn't it?" He banged on the sterring wheel, flooring the accelerator. The horn didn't even honk. Everything was on the blink. His gas tank had gone from nearly full to empty in the space of about three seconds.

The girl saw all the lights blinking and immediately took action. She kicked her door open and forcefully dragged Dick through it before he could react. They barrelled out, running until they reached a wooded area a few dozen yards away. "What were you thinking? I can't just leave the car out there!" Dick yelled at her.

The car exploded.

He could feel the heat wave more than fifty feet away. Without thinking, he hugged the girl and pushed her behind him, trying to keep her out of the line of flying debris. He could feel a few pricks on his back, but didn't dare turn around for fear of getting his eye poked out. They shuffled behind a tree, trying to calm their speeding hearts.

"Are you--" She clamped a hand over his mouth as the sound of the blast stopped ringing in their ears. That was when he first noticed the hissing. He felt her body tense up against him in fear, but she quickly recovered her calm. Beckoning to him, she tiptoed deeper into the woods, careful not to step on any dried leaves or twigs. The hissing was still there, almost like three or four snakes surrounding them. Her hand gripped his tightly, almost too tightly. He'd forgotten her strength.

She stopped at a tree and glanced up. Dick paled. No way was he going to climb up there, especially not in an Armani suit..._You idiot. It's a matter of life and death. Those snakes don't sound very friendly, funny enough._

The girl went up first, climbing like a monkey. Dick followed, wishing he remembered how to get up those rock walls he used to love as a kid. He got quite a few splinters, but at last, he was a good twenty feet above the ground. He balanced himself out on the thick branch, almost falling over when the girl huddled next to him again. He'd never seen anyone so scared.

Dick was going to say something to comfort her, but decided it was probably not a good idea to give away their position. It wasn't like she could understand him anyway. He embraced her awkwardly, trying not to gasp when he brushed her ribcage. The poor girl was emaciated. He hadn't even known, what with the excitement and the fact that he'd only known her for about thirty minutes. He probably had something in his bag to give her...which had been blown up along with the car.

The hissing was now directly below them. Dick chanced a glance and his eyes widened in shock. Standing below them was a human-sized, scaly, fork-tongued lizard on two feet, hissing and spitting at thin air.

"_Gordonians_," the girl whispered in his ear, her voice shaking. Was that some kind of animal species? Something that big...it'd probably have been discovered by now, especially if it was hanging out in Nebraska.

The creature left, but they didn't dare move from their spot for the rest of the night.

* * *

As soon as dawn broke, the girl jumped down from their spot on the tree. Dick was surprised she didn't break anything. He didn't trust himself to jump twenty feet, so he took the long way down. His clothes had stayed pretty neat, considering the circumstances. She gestured for him to follow her, and they tread through the rest of the forest carefully.

"What the heck is going on?" Dick murmured to himself. As if _she_ could explain anything at all. It'd be nice if she spoke English.

Long before they reached the edge, Dick heard cars. Civilization. Hopefully they could get food and a place to stay, and maybe even a hospital for the girl. It was the first time Dick had considered that since the explosion of the car. Somehow, he didn't think a hospital was what this girl needed anymore.

They trekked out to a gas station at the corner of two intersecting roads. Definitely not what Dick had hoped for, but at least they'd get food.

It was probably a bad idea to bring the girl in with him, if anyone thought he was an abusive boyfriend or something. But where could he leave her? Those lizard things were still out there, he assumed. He turned to her. "Stay _here_," he ordered firmly, pointing to the ground. Her eyes grew impossibly huge, almost like those puppies on the Animal Shelter commercials with that heart-melting 'why are you leaving me all alone?' look. They were insanely green...completely green, even the whites were green...but it wasn't a bad green...

Dick snapped out of it, taking a couple of steps back to make sure she didn't move. He crossed the street, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. A little bell rang when he entered the Seven Eleven, and the cashier looked up. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Where's the nearest bus stop? Or even a car rental."

"There's a stop next to this station. Bus comes about once every hour. First one should be here about thirty minutes." Dick checked outside, making sure the girl was still there. "Would you like anything to eat, sir?"

"Yeah."

A T.V. blared over the cashier's head, with a 'BREAKING NEWS' banner covering some guys face. "Yesterday evening, disturbances were spotted all over the state of Nebraska. Strange lights have been seen, electricity isn't working, and animals have been going crazy. Not only that, but a satellite was knocked right out of orbit. Flights were cancelled all over the U.S.A, and are still not running. Most Nebraskan areas are up again, but most people have reverted to superstitious beliefs. Now to you, John." The anchorwoman disappeared from the screen. Now Dick was staring at an anxious looking young man standing in a field.

"Thanks, Melinda. I'm at the home of Bertha and Hilary Swathshamble, on their farm in Nebraska. Tell me, what did you ladies see last night?"

"Hilary and Bertha? Why, they're only a mile from here!" the cashier marveled.

The camera pointed at two older, crazy-haired ladies. "Aliens!" squealed one, her voice high with fear. "And not your cute little E.T. aliens, too! Big, crocodile things! Scared the living daylights outta me!"

"Hilary and me, we hid in t'house, we did. Didn't dare go outside t'whole night, and t'animals were screaming, too. No siree. This mornin', though, we found a cow dead in our barn. Sliced right in half, only t'aliens left us one half."

"It was Beatrice! My favorite cow!" Hilary added.

"Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?" John asked them.

"Sure as t'grass is green," Bertha assured him solemnly. "Big ole nasty aliens. We didn't see any ship, but by golly, that was enough. One came up and sniffed at t'window! We were hiding under our table, had Paul's old rifle out. But they all just disappeared soon enough. Headed for t'forest."

"Shame. Hilary and Bertha, they're sensible folk. Don't kow why they'd believe this alien stuff," the cashier muttered, handing Dick the near bursting plastic bag. "Here you go. Have a nice day." Dick slapped down the money and hurriedly stormed out of the convenience store.

"Hmph. Must be from Gotham," the cashier muttered to himself.

* * *

"Here." She stared at the bag in his hand curiously. He opened up the bag, revealing the galore of junk food inside. She needed some empty calories. "Eat as much as you want." He pulled out a bag of nachos, munched on a chip, and then offered her some. She stared only for a second before happily wolfing down all of the chips, cheese, and finally, the plastic casing.

Dick paled. "Uh..." He didn't know it was possible to be _that_ hungry. Would she choke? Would she die? He got prepared to do the Heimlich, but the girl was now prodding the plastic bag. "No! That's not edible either!" She gave him that puppy-dog stare again, but his decision was final. "Eat food. Not containers."

He kept her eating in check, hoping she wouldn't guzzle down anymore plastic. Still, her cup had mysteriously disappeared. He made her follow him down to the bus station, trying to keep her inconspicuous. It would've helped if she didn't have such bright clothing.

The bus came a few minutes later. "Do you go to Omaha?"

"Yep. My last stop. An hour long ride, son."

Dick paid for the two of them and help the girl onto the bus, relieved the driver didn't say anything.

A tiny TV screen played above the driver's seat. Local news said the weather was going to be cloudy, in the high sixties. Then the alien story flashed again, but this time, either Hilary or Bertha had attempted to draw what they'd seen. The girl gasped at the picture. "_Gordonians!_"

Dick blinked. How had he not made the connection before? The 'aliens' on that farm...those were the things that had been in the forest last night, the things they'd had to hide from after they'd gotten stuck. Although, if his car hadn't blown up, they would probably be--at least--in Illinois by now. Dick groaned. Too many things had happened. He needed to know what was going on, and suddenly, he felt like turning to the alien theory, too, although it could just be teenage pranksters decked out in Halloween costumes..."_We found a cow dead in our barn. Sliced right in half." _Very disturbed teenagers...?

The girl was shaking, hugging herself to keep from breaking down. She'd been through as much as he had in the past twenty-four hours, maybe more. She might have escaped from an insane asylum or something, but she was still a person. Dick took off his sports jacket, frowning at the tiny tears and wrinkles from being on the run. He wrapped it around the girl's shoulders. "We'll get out of this place, don't worry."

She smiled slightly at him, and for a minute, he thought she could actually understand him. He sat next to her, splitting the last of the food with her. She rested her head on his shoulder and promptly fell asleep. _Must be nice, to feel safe enough to be able to get some shut-eye when those weird things are on the loose. _

He pulled her closer to him and fell asleep, too.

* * *

That was kinda slow, but the next one will have a lot more happening in it.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi...how long has it been now, like a month?! I'm sorry! But this is a really long chapter...which will be rushed BECAUSE it's a really long chapter and I got frustrated writing it for a month...um, there are things in this story that may not go along with the comics, but with the TV show instead, so please keep that in mind. If you have any other questions, send it to me in a review. I had so many announcemes and whatnot, but I forgot them all.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_She'd been here for years...there was always more backbreaking labor to be done, always someone who wanted to scorn and humiliate her, always another way to make her suffer. Koriand'r couldn't understand what she'd done to deserve this. No one had ever told her anything about the reason she was here. If she didn't work, she was beaten, and that was all she needed to know. _

_One thing did keep her going, though. The memory of her parents still lived fresh in her mind, she'd been over it so many times. The very last time she'd ever saw them, both of them had been mouthing, 'Please forgive us.' They didn't hate her. They were probably trying to save her. She only had to wait._

_A burly Gordanian stopped her, grinning maliciously. "Well, Princess, I hope your stay on Gordania has been pleasant...but it is time for you to leave."_

_"What?"_

_"The treaty has been violated. Therefore we assume all of our rights to do as we wish with you." His grin grew even more evil, if possible. "Princess Koriand'r...the Citadel awaits you."_

"Oi! You two in the back! Wake up, this bus has a--WHOA!"

Dick was jolted awake suddenly, too frazzled to wonder how he'd been comfortable enough to sleep with some girl practically in his lap. The otherwise empty bus was thrust forward, the steering wheel spinning itself and the alarm causing a ruckus. 'The Girl' woke up as well, her eyes wide. Dick found that expression horribly familiar.

In seconds, both he and the driver were dragged out of the bus, both expecting it to explode momentarily, though only one of them actually had proof that it would. This time, there would be no trees to safeguard them. They were out in the open, not a house to be seen for nearly half a mile. The girl huddled close to Dick, bracing herself.

The explosion never came.

Instead, something broke through the clouds. Dark and ominous, it cast a shadow over all that they could see. It couldn't be...an actual UFO. Dick was actually, physically watching an alien spaceship fly through Earth's skies. No way.

A curious red dot, like the light from a laser pointer, appeared on the ground in front of the bus driver's feet. Dick had seen enough Sci-Fi movies to know what that meant.

"RUN!"

Neither of the three hesitated for a moment longer. They sprinted as fast as they could, but weren't able to completely dodge the wave of energy as some sort of missle from the ship above them detonated right where Dick had suspected. They were flung forward and fell face first on to the ground. The bus driver was, by now, sobbing about aliens about to kill him. _Not_ a good idea.

Dick grabbed his shirt and shook him. "Get up, you idiot! They WILL kill you if you don't move!"

The girl dragged Dick by his free hand and urged them forward, snapping and growling in complete gibberish. It didn't matter, though, the ship wasn't firing anymore. It hovered for a while, intimidating the three on the ground into a petrified state. For a minute, all was still.

Then, the ship zoomed forward a few dozen yards, and started to grow in size...

"Why's it getting bigger? The aliens are gonna crush us!" the bus driver moaned.

"It's not getting bigger..." Dick muttered quietly. "It's getting closer. It's gonna land."

The girl started to run the other way, beckoning them to join her. Dick dragged the bus driver along until the guy caught on that they were leaving. The three of them rushed away from the landing spaceship, hoping to put enough space between the aliens and themselves to make an easy escape.

No such luck.

It touched down pretty far ahead of them with an earth-shaking _thump_ and sent a cloud of grass, dirt, and dust flying. The same lizard-like creatures in the forest and on the news didn't even wait for it to settle before opening up a door in the side of the ship and swooping out on strange hoverboards. They were too fast for Dick and the other two. Their party was caught almost immediately.

* * *

Roughly battered with staffs to walk faster, Dick, the bus driver, and the girl were forced onto the spaceship. The redhead had actually put up an amazing fight, taking out five of the lizard-things, but she couldn't fight all the thirty or so aliens. The bus driver hadn't been much help, unless deafening half the sentinent beings in the state with his screaming would somehow give them an advantage. Dick himself couldn't have done anything. The aliens were a lot stronger than they looked.

He was a prisoner.

The girl seemed to resent this even more than the boys. She was spitting and hissing at her captors, not caring about the jabs she received. _If you can get hit by a car and feel fine, there probably isn't a whole lot that could bother you_, Dick figured.

The inside of the ship was plain, with identical guards all over the place. They carried the same staffs, only the ends were sizzling with blue electricity. If they turned those on him, Dick knew without a doubt he'd be dead.

They were led into another room, which was a little more luxurious. An equally ugly alien was sitting atop a raised chair, smirking down at them. They stopped right in front of him, and suddenly all Dick could hear was gibberish. They were talking in the same language the girl had been speaking all along.

Realization finally hit Dick. This girl...she might not be a girl at all!...she was an _alien_? She looked human enough...besides the fact that the whites of her eyes were distinctly green, but she was actually kind of pretty. Nothing at all like the monster sitting before them.

So now there were different _kinds_ of aliens, too?

The said monster turned to look at Dick and the bus driver. "Humans..." it hissed in a raspy voice.

"You...you speak English?" Dick asked cautiously. Not only was he traveling with an alien, and not only was it probable that there were numerous aliens out there who could stop by Earth whenever they liked, but they also had English classes at their high schools. Wonderful.

"It's talking...to us! Please don't hurt us, Mr. Alien, I've got a wife and a kid at home and I can't leave them to--"

"This creature irritates me," the alien snapped. "Kill it."

One of their captors charged up the electricity on the ends of their previously semi-unharmful staffs. In the blink of an eye, the end was thrust into the bus driver's temple. The man shook violently, his eyes rolling back into his head and his mouth open in a silent scream. Then he stopped...and didn't move again.

Dick couldn't believe what he'd just seen.

"You, human, will also be destroyed...but not now. No, we would like to reward you for bringing our slave back to us," the alien said matter-of-factly.

"...Slave?" Dick managed to stutter.

"What else did you think this worthless piece of Tamaranian trash was? Princess or peasant, no Tamaranian will ever stand above the lowest of Gordanians. We are the superior race...they are _Troqs."_ He cast a nasty glance at her, chuckling at the frenzy he'd sent her into with that one word. "So we will allow you to become our slave as well...for the time being."

_Oh, well, that's nice of you. Hey, do you think you get cell phone reception in outer space? I've gotta make sure it's okay with my boss that I've bailed on him and now I'm apparently switching jobs._

"What if I--" The strangled cry of the Tamarind (or whatever she was) interrupted him. She was being taken away. His 'don't want to' never came. If he was allowed to go free, or killed because of his defiance, he wouldn't be able to help her out of here. Alien strength or not, she wasn't in any condition to be somewhere dangerous. "I mean...where do I go now?"

"Follow the guards. Oh, and welcome to the _Q'st'a,_" the Gordanian said, his grin laced with malice.

Dick left behind the corpse of the bus driver and the screeching girl he'd come to believe himself the caretaker of without another word.

* * *

He was shoved in a filthy cell with another alien. The cell itself was small, the size of a walk-in closet, and very primitive. It was just like an old jail cell, with bars facing the passageway and three walls on the other sides. The back wall had a tiny window, through which Dick could see outer space. The cell had an old-fashioned, rusty lock on it, which his Gordanian captor fit an equally old key into and swung the door open.

This alien looked like a girl, too, but Dick wasn't sure of anything anymore. She was covered in a dark blue, dirty cloak. Attached to the cloak was a hood, which obscured her face. A few strands of purple hair fell out of the shadow it cast.

He really didn't want to share his cell with any girl, let alone this one. She didn't look too happy.

"Uh...hi. I'm Dick." He paused, almost slapping himself. "You don't speak English either, do you?"

He got no answer in return, but suspected as much. What shocked him was when the girl lifted back her hood. She looked almost like a normal human, around his age, save fo the fact that her skin was grayish and she had some kind of jewel planted in the middle of her forehead. She even had some of the same characteristics of that Tangerine girl he'd run into: far too skinny to be healthy, and abnormally colored eyes. But a giant steel band encircled her mouth, preventing her from speaking, and probably from eating, too.

Dick's eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"

She tugged at the band, but it wouldn't budge. Her eyes begged for him to help her. But what could he do?

"Um...okay...there's no seam or anything...how does it unlock? Is there a password, or a key, or...oh. I found the keyhole..." He wished he still had that paperclip with him. All he carried was his wallet, which had a few bills and some credit cards. Maybe he could break one of those small enough to fit into the hole and pick the lock. It always worked, no matter how high tech. That was the beauty of it.

Dick dug out his old American Express card. He would much rather having to deal with a broken credit card than having someone die on him. First he broke it in half, then quarters, and then eighths. He fed the first strip into the keyhole. Twisting and turning it every which way did not work--it broke almost immediately. He still had seven tries left.

The second one went just as badly. Not only that, but there was now a tiny piece lodged in there that he couldn't get out. The third and fourth strips broke _trying_ to get the piece out. Eventually, Dick gave up and tried to work around it.

With his fifth strip, he ran into a strange discovery. Everytime he touched the bottom of the hole, a little 'chink' sounded, like someone was clicking open a pen. There was a button in there, like a reset button. He needed to press that down.

Dick broke the fifth and sixth trying to do just that. On the seventh one, he navigated it just so the forgotten piece was facing the button and pressed hard.

The band fell off the girl's mouth, leaving a red line of chafed skin across her face. "Thanks." Her voice was monotonous and almost indifferent to the pain she must have been feeling as she rubbed her raw skin. "I do speak English, to answer your question."

"What _was_ that?" Dick asked, horrified.

"It was there to keep me from speaking." She fell silent and studied him before staring outside. _Yeah, you probably don't even need one of those to keep you from speaking...you do it by yourself._

"Why would you need that?"

"Long story."

Another pause.

"How long have you been here?"

"Not very long, only a day or two. This is a holding cell, until someone dies and a space opens up." The way she said it, he'd have thought he was watching her comment on the weather on a boring date.

"But I have a friend...where did she go? Wouldn't she be in this holding cell, too?"

"Depends."

"Thanks for the description. When are they coming back? I need to get out of here and find her!"

"I've read about humans...my books said that chivalry was dead about eight hundred years ago, though."

Dick frowned at her. Something about this girl really _irked_ him. "Very funny." He pocketed his eighth strip of credit card, hoping it would come in handy eventually. "I have to get her out of here. She's hurt, really bad. Don't we have to go to the control room of the ship to shut it down? That's what they do in all the movies. Aren't you going to help me out in this rescue mission?"

The alien thought about it for a second. "I guess I would. But my powers are out of control...I haven't been able to meditate for days..."

"What powers?"

She muttered something that he couldn't make sense of, and the strip of credit card in his pocket was suddenly enveloped in dark energy. While Dick watched in horrified fascination, the piece of plastic floated up to his eye level and broke into three perfectly congruent pieces. The black energy disappeared, and the bits fell to the floor.

"Holy shit."

"Please. No profanity."

Dick glared at her. "Well, you know what? That's the least of my freaking problems! I've run over a girl and made her lose her memory, and THEN my car blew up, and THEN I got captured by aliens who apparently ALL got run over by cars because they speak the same language, and now I've gotten that _thing_ off your face and you don't even care that we're all in serious trouble because we're not even on our planets anymore! Did I mention that aliens actually exist? And that's not even the worst part! If I'm not back at my job ASAP, my own _dad_'ll fire me!"

She watched him rant with an impassive gaze, and rolled her eyes when he was done. "I'm sorry about your problems. But really, humans are insanely conceited. The universe doesn't revolve around you."

Dick scowled at her. "I don't have time for this."

"You have plenty of time. We won't reach the next planet for a few more Earth hours."

He couldn't just find the Tamra-whatsit girl and jump into empty space. She was right. He needed to wait, and only hope that her confinement was at least a little bit comfortable. "Fine...so, when does the food get here?"

For the first time, the alien girl's mouth twitched up in a smile, albeit a bitter one. "Never."

* * *

The ship had taken off not long afterwards, and they were currently flying through space. Dick was amazed. He was possibly one of the only humans who'd ever traveled so fast or far, who'd seen the wonders he was seeing. Planets and stars zoomed by them; dark matter, bright galaxies...if he hadn't been concentrating on how to escape, he would have been frozen with wonder.

Besides being amazed, he was starving. Obviously, Gordanians didn't feel the need to feed their prisoners. He wondered how everyone else had gotten along for so long.

Raven, the alien he was sharing his cell with for now, had since sunken into a state of almost unconsciousness, muttering the same string of words over and over again. Dick, however, was working out an escape plan. There had to be some sort of central power source. He'd hit or tear or damage it in some way until it shut down or exploded. Then he needed to get as many prisoners as possible and get out.

Of course, there was the fact that the ship could explode with him in it. Or that they would land on a planet with no oxygen in its atmosphere. But with his limited knowledge of anything universe-related, this was as far as he'd gotten. Not like Raven was any help.

There was absolutely nothing for him to do, for the first time since he'd run into the alien girl. It was the first time he'd actually been able to realize what predicament he was in. He was a prisoner on an alien ship, for crying out loud. This wasn't supposed to happen to him! To anyone! Aliens weren't even supposed to exist!

And why did he even care about what happened to that other girl, anyway? He should be concentrating on saving himself. Let the aliens deal with aliens, he had his own planet to care about. Why couldn't he have just dumped her at some hospital and driven far, far away?

Dick groaned and buried his face in his hands. If he didn't get something to eat soon, he was going to lash out at someone.

Raven opened her eyes. "We're landing."

This was his chance. "Listen, I figure that if we can blow up this spaceship or something--get all the prisoners out first, I mean--then we can get outta here. I mean, we'll be stuck on whatever planet this is, but that's okay, as long as it's friendly. We just have to get down to the heart of this thing and bash it around some. But we'll have to be really sneaky, we can't get caught by any guards--"

"It really doesn't need to be that complicated." Raven grabbed his arm. All of a sudden, Dick sank into a terrible state of nothingness, like whatever made him human had been completely wiped out. He didn't know where he was, or how he'd gotten there, or even who he was. He couldn't even feel Raven's hand on his elbow anymore.

As quickly as it had come, the feeling left. The two of them were standing in the control room of the ship, in the middle of five surprised Gordanians. Without warning, Raven whipped what looked like fifty black streaks at them, binding them all to their chairs and covering their mouths. One by one, she pressed her finger to each one's temple, and they passed out immediately. "Gordanian pressure point," she explained to Dick, who's jaw was just about touching the metallic tile.

Raven pointed to a wall, and a square cut itself out from the side, revealing a mass of wires. "Do you want to just stand there gawking or help out this friend of yours?" she asked dryly.

"Well, obviously, you don't need me to do anything. Why again haven't you tried this before?"

"Later. These idiots are only on one shift. We have to finish before we're interrupted by a staff change. I'll be over here, looking at the readings on this computer, and I can't chance any unsteadiness. I'll tell you what to do, you do it."

The objects she controlled did have a tendancy to bob up and down, Dick noticed. Their 'plan' could go up in flames if two things that weren't supposed to hit each other clashed. He positioned himself in front of the cables, awaiting instruction.

"You wouldn't know what an automated voice alarm cord looked like, would you?" Raven asked. He stared at the millions of wires in front of him and shook his head slowly. "It's the blue one back there...no, the other blue one. Disconnect it from the orange cable. You see the yellow on right next to it? Pull it out of it's socket, it won't hurt you. Oh...you only have two hands..." Raven scowled and did it for him. However many times he'd seen it so far, Dick still couldn't get used to the fact that this girl was shooting black...stuff right out of her hands. "Now connect that blue one and this yellow one. I'll help."

The two obviously did not want to be connected, but with a little forcefulness on Raven's part, they managed it in the end. "Good. Now, like I said, don't let go of that orange cable. No matter what."

"I get it," Dick answered impatiently.

"Just making sure." Raven pressed a few buttons, and Dick felt a rumbling beneath him. She was going to blow up the ship now...his instinct to flee was definitely acting up. But she'd told him not to let go of the orange cable.

How weird was it that it took so many steps to self-destruct the ship? Wasn't there supposed to be one big, red, shiny button that did all the work for you?

"Here goes nothing." She pressed one last button and the alarm went off, probably screeching the Gordanian equivalent of 'self-destruct initiated.'

"Great. How much time do we have?"

She didn't answer, just stared at the door as if waiting for something...

"Uh, Raven? The ship's going to blow up. Now would be a good time to leave," Dick suggested, anxiety coursing through his voice.

Still, she made no movement.

"Raven!"

"We're not leaving."

At any other time, Dick would have spent a good minute letting that sink in before getting up and running. But he didn't have any sort of time right now. If Raven was on a suicide mission, that was _her_ problem. He was leaving.

Just then, twenty or so Gordanians barged into the control room in a complete panic. They barely took notice of the two 'prisoners,' merely butting Raven out of the way and starting to press buttons. Obviously, nothing was working, because the alarm was still going off. Most of them ran out the door, and a couple hesistated, eventually taken along with them a few of their still-unconscious comrades.

Dick made to follow them, but Raven conjured up a black, threatening-looking wall in front of him. "Do. Not. Drop. That. Cable."

"Who cares about the damn cable? We're going to explode!" he cried, nearly in hysterics.

The final screech of the alarm sounded, long and terrible as the death march drumroll. Time seemed to pass by so slow, milleseconds were like hours to them. Dick could hear the screaming of the trapped prisoners, see all the control room's lights on the blink, feel the heat of the blast...

Wait...no he couldn't.

The screech ended, and the ship took off into deep space, leaving over a hundred Gordanians stranded on whatever planet the prisoners had just left behind.

"You idiot. We were never going to blow up," Raven scorned him. She walked over and took the cable from him, after which Dick promptly fainted.

* * *

Do guys _really_ faint after they find out they're going to have a son/daughter? Or is that just in the movies? 'Cause I can really imagine Robin doing that...it would be fun to videotape...


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to **tennisgal456, XxNightfirexX, BerryDrops, kjesStar, Seraephina, Crimson Black, RavenSis, cartoonfire, TooAwesomeToRequireAName, and Somewhere In Time **fo reviewing the last chapter!

And thanks to **Daniella** the anon. reviewer, too!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_"You thought you could run away, Troq!" the captain of the ship hissed. "You thought you had killed us, that we would never find you again? You were wrong...you will never be able to hide from us..." He beat her mercilessly, but Koriand'r refused to show any pain. What did it matter? No one would hear her. She was locked in the most thick-walled, secure, untouchable room in the entire ship. Nothing could penetrate through._

_Suddenly, the alarm above her head went off, signalling a self-destruction. The captain stood stock-still in fear. Thinking only of himself, he fled the room, closing the door behind him out of habit. Now, Koriand'r really did scream. After all this...after all the pain and hardship she'd suffered, she was going to die. It wasn't fair..._

Please don't let that kind man die as well_, she prayed._

_The alarm shut off, but there was no explosion. Instead, the tell tale rumble of take off was felt beneath her body. For the life of her, Koriand'r couldn't figure out what had just happened._

_Fifteen minutes later, a black shadow appeared on the wall beside her. "Princess Koriand'r...there was never a need for panic. The Gordanians are all off the ship, and the prisoners have been freed."_

_"Raven of Azarath," Koriand'r cried happily. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"_

_"You're hurt," Raven said, frowning at her wounds. Quickly, the sorceress healed them to the best of her ability, apologizing for not being strong enough to finish the job. "Come. There's someone waiting for you outside."_

When Dick came to, Raven was masterfully flying the spaceship through a belt of asteroids. He cried out in terror at one particularly close call, and Raven gave him an annoyed look. "Finally. It's about time you got up."

"How long have I--look out!--been...uh, asleep?"

"Ten minutes. I don't need you distracting me. Go get people out of their cells, and get some food to them. After that, let them know that we're heading to the first habitable planet in the area."

"Okay, I--whoa! Watch it, will you? This isn't a daredevil stuntfest!"

"Just go," Raven hissed. "I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, alright. Just don't get us killed _now_, please?"

Out of nowhere, a stream of black energy dragged him out of the door by his ear. _Note to self_, he sulked, rubbing the sore side of his head, _don't provoke Raven. Or any alien, for that matter. They're all stronger than you._

His first priority was to get the alien girl he'd been traveling with and make sure she was okay. On the way, he came across many different aliens in different jail cells, and managed to bash open every single lock. But he couldn't even ask the other aliens about her, whether they spoke English or not. He didn't even know her name.

Most of the aliens he freed thanked him--at least, he thought they did--and went some other way, probably in search of food. Some came with him, usually the ones that hadn't been there long, and were feeling a bit stronger. Some of their talents came in handy. One of them could control his body temperature, and he turned it up high enough to melt some of the bars on the cells. Another was all muscle, and bent the bars out with ease.

The medley of prisoners arrived at a very high-tech looking door. It had no lock, and was probably voice/DNA activated. Dick had a terrible feeling he knew who was behind it. He banged on it with all his might, pressing the only button there multiple times, but nothing worked. It took the combined efforts nearly every alien in his group to put even a dent in it. "We can't get in," Dick groaned. How was he supposed to get to her?

"You don't need to," Rave drawled, appearing out of nowhere with the Tamaranian girl in hand. "This who you were looking for?"

The girl recognized Dick at once and flew--actually _flew_--to embrace him. She had one lethal hug. If Dick's ribs had cracked any more they'd have been splintered.

A collective gasp echoed from the aliens around them. Actually, it sounded like a bunch of farm animals choking after they'd inhaled helium, but Dick was pretty sure there was a big deal with what they were doing right now. "Uh...it's not what it looks like...?"

Raven began to speak in that gibberish language that Dick had come to recognize as Tamaranian. They conversed for a little while, and at the end, the alien girl looked so grateful, Dick was sure Raven had been telling her about the escape. It didn't seem like Raven to glorify anything, much less his part in the whole plan, but apparently this girl knew enough to suspect that he'd done a lot more than what Raven had said.

"Thank you," Raven enunciated slowly, making it clear that she was not enjoying her job as translator.

"Thhhannnk youuu," the girl told Dick. He was taken aback. In English, her voice sounded so much friendlier. Hers must be one of those languages where everything sounded angry.

"Uh...how do you say 'no problem' back to her, Raven?" Raven just glowered at him. Dick figured that probably wasn't it, so he just smiled.

Raven sighed. "This is P..." The girl threw Raven a look. "...Koriand'r.

"Coriander? Like the vegetable?"

"It's not a vegetable, genius. It's an herb. _Gulshtik Koriand'r, ene na'ma Dick._" She turned to all of the other aliens, and announced (probably about nine times, in all their respective languages) that there was a hunt for food going on. "Language barriers are so fun..." She disappeared into the ground, just melted into a pool of black, like the Wicked Witch of the West.

_Maybe she's where they got it from_, Dick mused. He tugged on his companion's arm, urging her to find the Gordanian's stock along with everyone else.

A cry of triumph went up somewhere close to them. Dick followed the sound of that voice, pulling the girl behind him. More and more aliens were squealing, squaking, shrieking, screeching, belching, and squeaking for others to come join them. Dick turned a corner, saw what they were looking at...

...And promptly lost his appetite.

A bunch of still-moving worm-like _things_ had been thrown in a huge box, and were now being gobbled down by the hungry aliens. Koriand'r flew to the box at once, stuffing her face. Dick was sure he was turning as green as the stubby tentacles on Today's Special.

"Come, human," one of the diners gurgled. "Feast with us!"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks."

"You will not be, soon. This is the only food on the whole ship." Another alien handed him half of a gigantic grub, which still twitched and wriggled. Some kind of pus was dripping from it, probably because it was just cut in half. Dick would've thrown up, if he's had anything inside of him _to_ throw up.

Slowly, painfully, he took a bite out of the side. Truth be told, after he got past the sliminess, it wasn't so bad. The meal was like flavorless Jell-o. He ate the whole thing without too much of a hassle, glad he couldn't feel it moving around in his stomach...hopefully, it had stopped by now.

"You look like you're having fun." Raven suddenly appeared beside him again, smirking.

"Where do you keep coming from?" Dick asked, thoroughly annoyed.

"Someone has to fly the ship. Right now, Anthriux is on it. He's already eaten."

"If you can call it eating. This stuff is disgusting..."

"Whatever you say. I wouldn't complain, though. It's all you're going to get for a few days."

"Yeah, okay...you wouldn't complain...right...ouch!"

* * *

The planet they finally chose to land on (mostly because it was the closest to them, and they'd run out of fuel since _someone_ decided it was a beverage) looked like something out of Raven's dreams. Most of it was barren, but a few black trees twisted up from the dry ground, indicating that there was some support for life close by.

Most of the aliens were glad to get off the ghastly ship that had imprisoned them for so long, but Koriand'r was the first. She stood there, nearly fifty feet away from the spaceship, just turning her head up to the sky and relaxing. Dick leaned onto a window of the ship as he waited for the hubbub to subside so he could leave, just watching her. She probably did need the fresh air that much, but it was a strange picture: someone as pretty as her, out alone in the middle of nowhere, just waiting for something to happen...

"Hey, Raven," Dick called. "What's Kori...Kordi...what's she doing?"

"Tamaranians get most of their energy from suns...any sun. She's storing up," Raven explained, not even paying much attention to him. Her main goal was to get everyone out of the spaceship _without_ having to pick them up with her powers and toss them out from pure impatience.

The interior had cleared out enough for him to navigate his way to Koriand'r. She smiled at him, forgetting about her sun-ritual for a minute. The alien girl looked a lot better, with most of her injuries almost healed. Dick couldn't help but notice that a few looked pretty fresh, though...

"Hi."

"Thank you!" she chirrupped happily.

"Uh, no problem," he answered, chuckling at her antics. She frowned for a second, deep in thought, and turned back to the sun. Dick assumed that was a 'leave me alone, now' signal, and decided to explore the planet.

Unfortunately, so did everyone else, and it wouldn't do to separate. Raven was stressed beyond belief that she had to babysit so many fully-grown intelligent beings, and nobody else actally felt like helping. Dick felt weird ordering around a bunch of creatures that could beat him up in a second, but he did it anyway.

"Hey, you guys! Hey! STOP MOVING!"

Not everyone could understand him, but they figured he wanted their attention. Raven sighed and looked like she was about to thank him, but decided it went against her whole 'I'm indifferent to everything' persona.

In what seemed like twenty different languages, including English, Raven explained the situation. They were trapped on an unknown, possibly hostile planet, with no source of food, water, or fuel. Some of their party had been wounded by the Gordanians, a good many had been just about dying from starvation before the meal they'd just had, and no one was very strong.

About this time, some of the ex-prisoners had started to talk amongst themselves again, so Raven split them up into two groups. Anyone who could speak even a little bit of English was handed over to Dick, who accepted the leadership position very reluctantly. As it turned out, more than fifty percent of the population wasin his group, nearly quiet, and waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Where did you guys _learn _this language? You live in a completely different galaxy!" Dick exclaimed.

"Some of us have lived on your planet before. You may not have known," suggested one alien, who could possibly have passed for human...if his tail had been cut off.

"Yes. I know my mother was actually part of a 'freak show' two hundred Earth years ago," another reminisced, the scales on her body rippling with indignation. "Humans were rather unkind to her."

Dick considered that point. "...Well then, it's a good thing freak shows are looked down on in today's society--okay! So, while everyone else looks for something edible on this planet, we're searching for any kind of fuel to get us outta here and back to our own planets."

"I apologize for drinking our store," mumbled one of the more muscular aliens who'd helped Dick free the prisoners.

"That's okay, we'll find something new. Uh...any ideas?"

"You could just wait for the trees to decompose," Raven offered, evidently free of her food-scroungers. "It probably won't take very long."

Dick would've rolled his eyes at her, if he wasn't afraid she would roll them out of his head. "Any other suggestions?"

"Sha-la!"

"Hey!" A tiny, snow-white alien was tugging at Raven's cloak, curiousity sparking in it's pink eyes.

"Hey! Sha-la!" it mimicked, not letting go.

"Cute. Now, if you speak English, get in front where you can see us properly, and don't ever touch me again," Raven growled.

"Again! Sha-la!" And it tugged at her cloak some more. Dick couldn't help laughing, along with a couple other aliens, but Raven had had enough. She conjured up a handful of her black energy to blast at the little creature. "Sha-la this, you little--"

"Raven, don't! I don't think this one's ours..." Dick had only just noticed a moving cloud of white and pink in the horizon. Hundreds of thousands of those little creatures were running to their spot. "If you annihilate this one, we'll have to fight all of them..."

At the word 'fight,' the prisoners slouched away, clearly in no condition for combat. Dick didn't see another choice except to run, but where would they hide all these aliens? It was the little creature's planet, after all. They probably knew everything about it...and there wasn't much of a place to hide, anyway.

The crowd kept coming, coming...and it stopped about twenty feet in front of them.

"This can't be good," Raven whispered.

"Good! Sha-la!" they all echoed.

"I think they like you. Maybe we should sacrifice you...for the good of everyone else," Dick murmured back.

"Shut up."

"Shut up! Sha-la!"

Most of the aliens were getting increasingly annoyed. Dick and Raven had to do something...and soon, before a conflict erupted. "Listen, inhabitants of...whatever this planet is!" Dick started, sure they would interrupt with their 'Sha-la!'ing if Raven said anything. "We...uh, come in peace!"

Raven slapped her forehead, mumbling about how corny that was. As one, the whole crowd slapped their foreheads with stubby, hand-less arms and said, "Corny! Sha-la!"

"Don't do anything! Or at least, pretend to listen! Maybe they'll follow you," Dick hissed at her. "Um...we need fuel for our rocket...thing, and food for our passengers...do you, uh, know where we could find some?"

None of them responded.

"Food! Gas!" Raven tried.

"Gas! Sha-la!" Suddenly, the whole place reeked. Really, really bad.

"They did not just do what I think they did," Dick muttered, plugging his nose. "Don't ever talk again, Raven."

She glared at him. "_Fuel_."

"Fuel! Sha-la!" The creatures started to waddle away, and Dick and Raven exchanged looks.

"Uh, okay...a couple of people, come with me! We're going to go see what's going on with these guys...and everyone else can help the other group, I guess," Dick finished lamely. Very few of them volunteered to come with, wary of another gas attack, but those who did looked like they could hold off at least a hundred of these little guys at a time.

Dick, Raven, and five others followed the cries of 'Sha-la!' to what looked like a gigantic air duct. In groups of three, they all hopped in, which took quite a while. Dick took a deep breath and jumped in after them.

He fell into a bottomless black void, like a gigantic tube slide that never ended. He couldn't even hear anything but his own screaming, and hoped he wouldn't crash and break at the very bottom.

The creatures had thought of that, however, and the softest cushion in the universe, made up of some kind of lightweight fur, was waiting at the bottom to break his fall. Dick rolled off immediately, just as Raven came floating down on a hoverboard of black.

"You scream like a girl," she greeted, examining the high-tech cave they'd fallen into.

Dick was beyond impressed. Who knew that such little, annoying creatures could build a spaceship that sleek, have an operations center that looked like it worked on voice codes alone, and keep the entire place spotless?

One of them (it was impossible to tell which, they all looked the same) hopped in front of a huge screen. "Sha-la!" it cried. The screen came to life, with moving pictures and background music that sounded a lot like a symphony.

"Fuel!" Raven stressed.

"Fuel! Sha-la!" Fifteen of the creatures broke away, coming back while balancing three barrels of--what Dick hoped was--gasoline for them to use on their spaceship. "Sha-la!"

"Oh...that was fast. Thanks," Raven stuttered.

"Thanks! Sha-la!"

"Let's get out of here...please..." begged one alien, covering her ears.

"Fine." Raven enveloped them all in a bubble of black, rising them and the barrels through the tube that they'd come down in. They left behind frantic cries of 'Sha-la! Sha-la!' But not for long.

Apparently, these things could _jump_. They poured out of the air duct, capturing Raven. "Stay! Sha-la! Stay here! Sha-la!"

She blasted the ones that were holding her away, suspending herself in the air with her powers. "Okay! We'll stay here...for tonight." She gave Dick a meaningful glance. "We'll need food, though."

"Food! Sha-la!" A few of them jumped back down to retrieve the needed items. Apparently, their whole civilization was down there. The room they'd seen was probably just the space station. There might be whole cities...which meant there were a lot more of these that could panic like they'd just done and hold Raven hostage. As much as she insulted him, and whatever he'd said before, Dick didn't like the thought of leavig her behind...that much.

The five aliens started to talk at once, wondering what she was playing at. "Listen! Listen!" Dick calmed them. "We get food, we don't upset these things, and we leave in the morning with no problems. I think everyone here needs a good night's sleep and a full stomach, right?"

"I suppose so..." they muttered.

"Good. Now, we've gotta find everyone else and let them know what's going on...good luck..."

* * *

The day on this planet lasted about as much as an Earth day. By nightfall, the whole party had been reunited and fed. The natives of the planet waited with them, forcing Raven into silence, lest something she said was repeated and irritated everyone else.

Koriand'r came and sat by Dick, who was exhausted, but not unhappy for the company. "Hi."

She smiled, beckoning to him. Dick leaned closer confusedly, though not close to the point of complaining.

Without warning, Koriand'r attached her lips to his, kissing him furiously. Dick was far too surprised to do anything but widen his eyes and wonder why everyone had made such a huge deal out of her hugging him, but couldn't care less that she was trying to make out right in front of them.

She separated a few seconds later, when realization suddenly hit Dick. He hadn't _done_ anything. Was that why she stopped? Because he'd acted like he had never kissed a girl in his life? That he was _bad_ at kissing? Still in a daze, Dick leaned in to set her straight, but Koriand'r frowned confusedly at him.

"There is no need for that...I have already learned everything."

* * *

That was a really long filler. I'm sorry! But hey, they kissed, right?...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_"Everyone stay as quiet as you can. We can't afford to wake these things up. They might try and stop us from leaving again," a fellow Tamaranian whispered to them. Koriand'r nodded at him, creeping along silently. It was hard to move all hundred or so aliens in an orderly fashion, but slowly, the first one made it back on the ship. They filed on, careful not to disturb the sleeping Sha-la-ing creatures. _

_Raven was the last to get on, since she was the one they wanted most. Wordlessly, she ushered everyone else on, nodding at Dick as he went by. Koriand'r chuckled at him. He was so strange at times. In fact, he'd spent the last evening completely choked up whenever she'd attempted to speak to him in his own language. Surely he wasn't just communicating with her in a way she'd forgotten to pick up, yes? He could not make that funny expression on purpose!_

_In her reminiscing, she didn't register what she was seeing until it was too late. One of the little creatures stirred, its pink eyes opening wide. "SHA-LA!"_

_"SHA-LA! SHA-LA!"_

_"RUN!"_

_No one bothered being quiet anymore. The last of the prisoners dashed onto the ship. Even Raven managed to get on, though her cloak was ripped a little by one of the creatures trying to hold her back. The door was closed immediately, and the ship was ready for takeoff._

_Everyone was still cramped in the docking bay, and Koriand'r struggled to get free, running right into Dick._

_"You know how to steer a ship?" At least, that's what she pieced together from all of his stuttering._

_"Not as well as Raven," Koriand'r admitted._

_"Good. Then let's get out of the way." He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her out of the chaos._

_They ended up near a window, scared out of their minds as they watch the natives of the planet throw themselves at the side of the ship, squealing madly. The ship took off, but they didn't stop. A couple even hung on, but were eventually thrown off as the ship flew faster and faster. _

_"Good morning, Q'st'a." Raven's voice rang through the whole ship, with her trademark bored tone. "This is your makeshift captain speaking. We have now cleared the planet and are heading full speed towards Earth."_

"Uh...so..." It was funny how, when Koriand'r couldn't talk at all, it had been so much easier to be around her. But now, Dick was at a loss as for what to say. Maybe because the girl had kissed him for no reason whatsoever and had totally forgotten about it. If that wasn't confusing enough, no one else seemed to care AND she now spoke English almost fluently. If Dick hadn't been in outer space, he would've long since been gone to Hawaii on a 'business trip,' just to get away from the chaos..."I didn't know we'd be heading to Earth--it seems kind of out of the way, I guess--I mean, I wouldn't know..."

"Well, as we have just left Earth a few days ago, it is the closest planet, and we have a passenger from there--namely, you," she explained. "I believe this would compare to a human 'bus,' yes?"

"If you think about it, sure."

He wished he'd've said more, because now the conversation was at a dead end again.

"I'm really sorry."

"For what?" she asked confusedly.

"For running you over. For hurting you so bad."

She giggled at him. "Do not be, Dick. Your human car could not have done anything to me."

He didn't smile back. "Then...what did?"

She didn't need to answer.

* * *

Eventually, Raven and a couple of other aliens worked out shifts, and they discovered that there were quite a few dependable pilots on board. Currently, Dick and Koriand'r were waiting for Raven to finish hers.

"What I do not understand is how the Gordanians managed to find us so quickly...and why they did not believe I was dead..."

"Maybe because you're alien, you show up different on their radar or something," Dick offered. It was the best explanation he could come up with. He wasn't exactly NASA material. "I honestly have no idea how they managed to get from Gordania to Earth in the first place. All our scientists haven't been able to find life on other planets...but the other planets kinda found us."

"Yes, the Gordanians tend to do that. And most of the time, when they do not intend to conquer the planet, they are very stealthy. However, I do not expect that they would bother Earth until all of their own resources have diminished. And if, by then, you have not destroyed your own planet, they will take it over by force. But humans need not fear slave labor. The species in general is not the strongest," she explained. "I do not mean to offend you by that."

"It's fine, I've figured that out by now. Everyone here is probably bigger than me..."

Koriand'r bit her lip. "I apologize for doing the dragging of you here. I had no idea the Gordanians would find me--and you--and that all of this would happen. I merely thought I could work up the strength to leave and there would be no more talk of the matter."

"Heh. That's not how it usually works, is it? But hey, I've gotten an all-expense paid trip to the most exotic places I could dream of--I'm not complaining."

She smiled. "I am forever grateful to you. You did not need to bring a strange girl to safety. I am very lucky for meeting someone so kind."

"Oh...uh, it was nothing..." He wanted to blurt out 'so, you _are_ a girl, then?' but that would probably ruin their little 'moment.'

He shouldn't have worried. The Gordanians definitely didn't.

_BAM! _The ship was thrown on to its side as the first missile cut through empty space and lodged itself on the starboard side before exploding. The two lost their balance and crashed into the opposite wall. "We need to find Raven! She might be able to hold off the Gordanians with her black stuff!"

Suddenly, the ship jolted far to the left, probably to dodge the missile that had just gone by. Dick got just one glimpse out of the window at a familiar blue planet before Koriand'r pulled him towards the captain's cabin.

Around them, panicking aliens headed for the escape pods, while the braver ones stayed to fight with whatever limited weaponry the Q'st'a had. On entering the captain's cabin, he found random objects hovering in mid-air and Raven in a frenzy. The window was much bigger, here, but only showed a good eighth of the Gordanian's giant warship.

"Holy shit!" Dick whispered, the blood draining from his face. No way would they be able to escape this. It was probably fifty times as big as their puny ship. How had they not noticed it coming?

"I can't do anything. Nothing we fire at them is going to hold them back, and...that was the last escape pod," Raven announced hopelessly.

"Did everyone else get out?" Dick demanded.

"No. There were only enough pods for the Gordanians, and there are a lot more prisoners on board than there were slave traders." She shook her head. "It wouldn't have helped anyway."

She was right. Immediately on deportation, the pods had been shot down, spiraling deeper into space...almost fifty prisoners had been taken out in the blink of an eye. Pretty soon, the other fifty would meet with the same fate.

"Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Brace yourself."

This time, the ship really did explode.

* * *

"Dick...Dick, please...wake up..."

He didn't actually feel like waking up. Since when was Alfred's voice so high pitched? And the butler had better have a whole bottle of asprins...this hangover was impossibly painful.

"Dick? It is I, Koriand'r."

The voice was getting clearer. Dick opened one bleary eye, but it only made everything worse. Why was it all so white? Was he in heaven? Why would he be in heaven with a hangover? Maybe Bruce had some flourescent lighting installed...right above his bed...

A curious face poked in front of the glare, easing the brightness. "Are you feeling well?" Her hand smoothed the side of his face, relaxing him. "Dick? Please do not say you have lost your power of speech...not when I have so recently acquired it..."

"Mmmhmmhmm..." he mumbled, somewhat excited by the discovery that he could lean into her hand and his head didn't hurt that much.

"Dick, please...do not fall asleep again, you are injured, and that may result in a coma...which Raven has already fallen into..." Her voice wavered with worry.

"Smhmuhsm...whsummhmm..."

"Please, Dick, I do not know what you are saying."

"F...five more...minutes..."

"For what, Dick? Dick? Something is...on your..."

He had this strange, tickling sensation all over his body. It was unsettling, but not nearly enough to get him up. Like little, marching creatures inside his shirt...even more irked, Dick worked up the strength to look at his arm.

"ANTS!" He jumped up, sweeping them off his chest and arms. Only then did he notice that his shirt was missing, and that there were a lot of wounds that had been inflicted...but by what, he couldn't remember.

As soon as the last little bug was off, Dick stepped away from the area he'd been lying down on (which turned out to be an anthill) and started to get very, very dizzy. Spots flashed before his eyes and he swayed dangerously.

"Dick! Are you--oh!" Koriand'r caught him just before he fell, careful to avoid his injuries. "I did not know those creatures were dangerous. I thought they were the natural healers of your planet..."

"'S okay..." He regained balance and sat down, holding his head. "Why does everything hurt so much?"

"Raven managed to enclose us in a protective structure before the explosion, and were were thrown in the direction of your planet. However, it took quite a bit of effort to do maintain it while we were landing, and soon after we exited the atmosphere, Raven could do so no longer."

"You mean...we all fell...from the sky?" he questioned weakly. He glanced around at the acres and acres of farmland. They must've been like a meteor or something...

"No. We were very close to the ground when she passed out, only about fifty feet. We had all hit the ground before I could fly and catch you, but I did not even try. I apologize...it was wrong of me to assume that the two of you had anything liked a Tamaranian build."

"I fell _fifty feet_?" he repeated, his disbelief evident.

"And you are not unscathed. But I could not do very much, with the limited amount of resources I have. I only hope we are able to wake Raven. Her magic will be of much use to you." She handed him back his shirt and went over to Raven. Dick ignored it and just groaned, trying to lessen the throb in his head, but massaging wasn't helping much.

"Raven? Raven, please, wake. It is I, Koriand'r." She said something in Tamaranian, too, but it didn't work very well, either. "Please, friend, you must rise. We are in danger here..."

Raven remained resolutely still, floating three or four inches above the ground. She didn't stir at all, and nothing Koriand'r said made any sort of difference. Dick stopped the pleading girl, shaking his head. "Where are the others?"

"I...I do not know."

Dick hung his head, but the movement nearly split it open. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out, but Koriand'r already seemed to know something was wrong. She looked so helpless, he tried to put a smile out there, just to keep her happy.

"Hey, not so bad, though, right? Fifty feet and we're all alive, I call that an achievement."

It didn't really work. She scooted closer to him and pulled down his shoulder, resting his head in her lap, massaging it herself. He closed his eyes and smiled. "That feels great, Kory..."

"Koriand'r?" she helped.

"Kory's a nickname...it's shorter...so when I don't want to interrupt what you're doing I can keep the words to a minimum..."

"Oh. Very well then," she giggled. "I like it."

"Hmm..."

* * *

It was nighttime when Dick finally felt well enough to walk by himself. Raven still hadn't shown any signs of life, and Kory(and'r) was even more worried than before. He knew that the thoughts crossing her mind were anything but positive, and was doing his best to wake Raven in a more aggressive way than Kory thought acceptable. Though, after the first time she caught him shaking Raven violently, he wasn't allowed anywhere near the comatose alien.

"What if she does not wake up, Dick? What if she dies...all to protect us?"

"Hey, don't talk like that. She won't die, and she'll be up soon. Don't worry."

"How can I not?" He didn't have an answer for that one, and pulled his once-discarded shirt back on to stall.

They heard the car long before they saw it. Hip-hop music was blaring out of the open windows, so much that the car was bouncing on its wheels. The driver was singing along in a rather out-of-tune voice. It would have looked very normal, except for the fact that they were obviously in the country, and there weren't too many hip-hopping Mercedes drivers cruising down the dirt roads.

"Kory, get Raven out of the way. I don't like the look of this." She obeyed him, gathering the other girl in her arms and disappearing into a clump of wheat. Dick hid, too, but made sure he could see what was going on.

The guy pulled over and parked, casually getting out and looking around. He was tall, bigger than Dick, but obviously nothing Kory couldn't handle. The moon glared off of his bald head, looking like a halo compared with the man's dark skin. Glasses covered his eyes, but Dick knew he was searching...

The man slipped his hand under his suit jacket, grabbing a gun. This only confirmed Dick's hunch: this guy was bad news.

"I know you're here! You can come out now! I won't harm you unless you are openly hostile!" His voice echoed in the empty space. Dick frowned and, making a split second decision, decided to show himself. _Hopefully this gets Kory and Raven out of trouble._

"You looking for someone?" The man whirled around his gun at the ready. Dick held up his hands, surrendering. "Whoa, whoa. You can check me, I don't have anything on me."

The man's eyes widened so much, Dick could see them over his sunglasses. "Dick _Grayson_?"

_Uh oh._

"I--"

"Vic Stone, you don't know me, but I know you! Man, we've been looking all over for you! Your dad's been going insane! You've been gone for two weeks now! Where have you...don't answer, I know. How bad did they hurt you? Mr. Wayne'll never forgive himself if you're permanantly damaged, I bet..."

Dick hadn't even realized it had been so long. He glanced back to where Kory and Raven were. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me, man, the aliens! Where'd they take you? Did they experiment on you? Don't answer, we're gonna get you home first, but then you've got some serious questioning coming your way. Get in the car. I can't believe I found _Dick Grayson_..."

"I can't go. You'd better leave. You're in danger here."

Vic seemed surprised, as if the thought of Dick Grayson not being glad to go back home hadn't even crossed his mind. "Huh?"

"I said, leave. It's not safe."

"Are you kidding me? _Not safe_ is my job, man! I'm part of your dad's private team...which you're technically not supposed to know about, but it's too late now...I'll tell you on the way back, okay?"

Dick crossed his arms. "Tell me now."

Vic scratched his hairless scalp, trying to figure out who was more of a threat to his job. "Bruce Wayne came into contact with aliens a few decades--I mean, years--ago. At least, that's what he told us. Aliens exist, and he's got enough money to fund the research to prove it. When you disappeared, and when he heard about all that weird stuff going on, he knew what happened."

"Have you personally come into any sort of contact with aliens?"

"Uh...our radar detected one ship before this...but that's about it."

"But you know enough to realize that some will kill you without a second thought."

"That's what I've heard."

"Then you understand when I say you have to leave here if you don't want that to happen to you. Somehow, aliens like that have been following me everywhere, and I don't want to go anywhere near another person if I might hurt them."

Vic snorted. "Don't try and be all 'I'm gonna be serious and solemn 'cuz I've gotta save the universe' on me. I already get it from the guys at work. Like I said, danger's in the job description. Now get in the car. We'll track down the aliens and blow 'em up for you, how does that sound?"

Dick smirked. "Fine. But I've got a couple of friends...don't shoot, they're not the bad ones. Kory! Bring Raven out here, he's okay!"

A choked hissing sound, like a snake having a laughing fit, emitted from the clump of crops. Dick's eyes widened as three Gordanians emerged. "I lied! They're the bad ones! Shoot!"

* * *

I think some of the wording was a little off in this chapter. When I said 'He shouldn't have worried. The Gordanians didn't.' I meant that the Gordanians didn't worry about interrupting their 'moment' like Dick was worried about doing that. I just didn't know how else to word it without it sounding dumb.


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: There's gore ahead...

Thanks to **tennisgal456, Daniella, RavenSis, kjesStar, lupine-eyes, BerryDrops, -natsume-luvr25-, cartoonfire, waves2622, XxNightfirexX, Dancing-StarFrenzy, **and **nickygirl **for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_Koriand'r hadn't even noticed the Gordanian stealth ship land a few yards away, or the sneaky aliens creeping up behind her. She was so worried when the strange man in front of her pointed his gun at Dick, she'd even given away her position by gasping. Distracted by 'Vic's cheering and celebrating, she'd allowed herself--and Raven--to be caught. Stupid._

_"Where are you taking us?" Koriand'r growled at her captor, doing her best to make sure Raven was as covered as possible. _

_"Back where you belong...at the Citadel. Back where you will be punished and properly humiliated, Troq," the Gordanian answered, baring his disgustingly brown teeth in an evil smile. Koriand'r lashed out at him, her fist connecting with his stomach, and sent the guard behind her spiraling deeper into the field. The five or so Gordanians left circled her, no longer smiling. They knew she would put up a good fight, but she couldn't take all of them, especially not while protecting Raven._

_Shots rang out behind her, where still more Gordanians had gone to meet Dick and his friend. She chuckled darkly; the unwelcome aliens hadn't known about the gun. "Your comrades are dead. You had best give up now," she warned the remaining guards._

_"We aren't here to give them funeral services. We're only here for you, filth." One's arm snapped out, taking Raven away before Koriand'r could react. "Come slowly now. And you'd better not resist, because we will not hesitate to kill your friend if you do."_

Vic was a pretty darn good shot, however much he trembled at the thought of it. "Aw, man, I just killed five aliens...is there a law against killing things that aren't supposed to exist? Did I just murder them? Why couldn't I have just stayed Grammy's shopkeeper--"

"Calm down! There might be more..." Dick whispered, edging forward. He parted the tall stacks of wheat, sticking his head in. "Kory? Raven? Are...are you here?"

There was no answer.

"Kory? Kory! Kory, answer me!" His voice rose as he panicked, tearing up the patch in his search for Koriand'r.

"Dude...I don't think she's there..."

Dick whirled on him. "What do you mean, she isn't there? She can't be gone! If they take her, they'll..." He shuddered to think about it. "We've got to get her back."

That was when he saw a tell-tale flicker in the otherwise dark night sky. Some type of alien technology, no doubt. A small-ish ship, previously invisible, fizzled into their view. It was taking off, most likely with Koriand'r and Raven on it. How in the world were they supposed to catch them once they were in outer space?

"We need a ship, fast!"

"Then you're gonna love my car." Vic pulled Dick into the passenger seat and got in on the driver's side. "Made this baby from scratch, just for the job." He pressed a neon green button on the dashboard. All of a sudden, the two men were jerked backwards as the car squealed and groaned into a completely different shape. "Of course, there are a few bugs, but I'm pretty sure we'll make it out alive..."

His car had transformed into spaceship. Dick was speechless.

"It's go time!" Vic whooped, flipping switches that were hopefully for takeoff. "You ready to get your girl back?"

"Uhh...hold on...she's not..."

A deep rumbling shook the car so much, Dick was sure his teeth would rattle right out of his mouth. Then, with a gigantic roar, they were off the ground, leaving a good patch of the field behind them burnt.

* * *

"This is amazing! You didn't leave anything out...what is this thing, a radio? To Bruce? And cupholders...and a radar...hey, something's _on _the radar..." Dick pointed to a little blip on the screen, and Vic nodded grimly.

"Yeah, it catches DNA signatures that aren't native to Earth. That's how I found you--or rather, your alien friends. Anyway, that's them. They haven't left Earth's atmosphere yet, and they won't for at least another thirty seconds, which gives us plenty of time to catch up to them."

"Plenty of time...huh..."

"We're in a rocket, Dick. This ain't no car anymore."

"Right."

Vic kicked up the speed a couple of notches. "This is gonna be a _very _bumpy ride. Listen, Dick, when I give the signal, you press that button on your right. It'll shoot down the ship."

"What about Kory and Raven?"

"You got any other idea on how we might get those aliens to land?"

"Not really."

"Good. And I'm pretty sure your alien friends can take that much of a blast, just enough to put a hole in the ship. We'll try to catch them if they fall, okay?"

"Vic, Raven's in a coma. Or something like it, at least. I don't know how much she can take."

"I'm figuring we're gonna have to risk it. NOW!"

Dick clenched his teeth and pressed the aforementioned button, unable to watch as something from Vic's 'car' shot out towards the Gordanian's ship and detonated. He knew the ship was spiraling down...down...but he hoped the two girls hadn't gone with it.

"Dick! Man, open your eyes, you're not gonna believe this! _That's _your girl?"

"She's not my...what the--" Kory was flying. As in, actually hovering in mid-air, barely holding on to Raven. Dick nearly passed out again. "Kory! Kory! Over here!"

"Dude, she can't get in the car, we've gotta land first!" He took the ship down, with Kory following close behind and Dick watching her the whole time, unable to believe his eyes. "Alright, this is gonna be a tough landing..."

The car crash-landed on to the ground, shaking the people inside to the bone. Vic cringed as various parts of the 'car' snapped and crumbled. Dick rubbed his aching head, looking outside the deformed window for Kory, only to see a bored-looking farmer and his equally bored-looking cow.

"I thought I told y'all air-force people not to do yer little light-shows on ma farm...do ya listen? Nah. And now ya got a ship down in the middle of ma good corn field...and ya burned up about three thousand dolla's worth o'wheat..."

"Uh...sorry about that. You didn't happen to see a--Kory! Kory, are you okay? Is Raven okay?"

The farmer walked away with his cow, shaking his head sadly. Dick got out of the car, barely steadying himself before Kory barrelled into him. "We are both fine. Raven is still unconscious, but I have left her close by. Who is that?" She pointed to Vic confusedly as he got out of his totaled ship, which had begun to turn back into a car.

"Hiya, little lady. Name's Victor Stone, you can call me Vic."

"He's the one who saved you guys," Dick added.

"I thank you," Kory said warmly, hugging him as well.

Dick ignored the twinge of jealousy in his gut and gestured to Vic's car. "What're you gonna do about this?"

"It's been through worse. I'll fix her up again, won't I, girl?" He patted the burnt hood affectionately.

Kory scrunched her nose up in confusion. "I was not aware that your vehicle was a female..."

"It's not, Kory," Dick chuckled. "You got a girlfriend, Vic? I have a feeling she won't like sharing you."

"Nah, she's actually okay with--watch out! AHHHH!" Vic pushed Dick and Kory away as something came sailing through the air at the three of them. It exploded so violently, Dick couldn't see anything through the flames and smoke.

"Vic!"

There were only three Gordanians left, but they were not going without a fight. They were severely wounded from their fall, obviously not as strong as Tamaranians either. Their voices barely carried over the roar of the flames. "Princessss Koriand'r...you will return to the Citadel...or elssse...we will not hesitate to kill _all_ of your friendsss..."

"You will pursue me no LONGER!" Kory yelled, her eyes flashing a bright, neon green. Dick stood, completely shocked, as her hands lit up the same color. Then she actually _threw_ the lights _at_ the Gordanians, as if they were just frisbees. "You will leave my friends ALONE!"

The Gordanians, as shocked as Dick was, were thrown back into the wheat, moaning in pain. The lights hadn't knocked them out, but they were now far too weak to stand up. Koriand'r was breathing hard, looking almost as exhausted as the aliens themselves. "Kory, what the heck was--"

"Ohh..."

That voice sounded a lot like Vic's. In all the excitement, Dick had completely forgotten about him. He turned around, relieved--for two seconds--to see that the wall of flames had subsided..."Vic, are you okay? Vic--no...no, no, no, nonono..."

"X'hal..."

The wall of fire hadn't separated them; it had engulfed Vic. His mangled body was actually on fire in a couple of places, and a few chunks of it were all gone. Debris from the car and the bomb had cut and impaled him in several places. His blood was pooled around what was left of him, and he was shivering like it was below zero out. "Vic...my God, Vic...hang in there, okay? We'll call an ambulance, hold on..." Dick said, his voice as shaky as Vic was. He knew it was a lie, there was no way Vic would survive. The nearest hospital was probably twenty miles away...who knew where they were?

"Don' bothe...bother, man...get home safe...okay?" He only had one eye. His other eye was gone. Vic tried to smile, but he was in so much pain...

Dick dove into the car, searching for Vic's cell phone. He found it, flipped it open, and dialed 9-1-1. "Hello? We have a real emergency...what was it? Uh...we had a car crash. My friend is hurt really bad, please...I don't know where we are...okay, I'll stay on...can you trace the call a little faster, please?"

"Dick...I do not think they will be able to help..." Tears rolled down Kory's cheeks, but Dick wasn't surprised. The sight of Vic would have reduced anyone to tears, and given even the most macho guy nightmares.

"Calm down, Kory, we'll do all that we can."

* * *

When they finally heard the blaring sound of the ambulance, Vic was totally unconscious. He wasn't breathing, and he didn't have a pulse. Dick and Kory had cleared away the powerless Gordanians and had Raven put safely out of sight.

The paramedics rushed onto the scene, bringing out a stretcher. They stopped at the sight of him. "Oh my goodness..." one of them breathed.

"I'm afraid...there's nothing we can do for him...we're too late..."

Kory held on so tightly to Dick, he was sure _he'd _need an ambulance after she had let go. "Please..."

"We'll try." They loaded him on to the stretcher and carried him into the ambulance. "Does one of you want to come with?"

Dick and Kory exchanged glances, pained to separate from each other or Vic. "No. You need to hurry!"

They were gone in a flash.

* * *

Neither of them wondered out loud whether Vic would be okay or not. Kory had barely gotten to know him, but he'd pretty much saved her life. And he'd sacrificed his to save Dick's. The two of them owed him everything, and they would never be able to repay him.

"Raven still hasn't woken up?" Dick asked to ease the terrible silence.

"No. Not even from the...explosion." Her shoulders sagged. He knew how Kory felt. The image of Vic's body wouldn't erase itself from his mind. Not even when his parents were murdered had Dick seen anything so gruesome. His stomach churned with guilt and helplessness, and he was sure Kory was going through the same unbearable recollections. There was no source of comfort for either, except each other.

"Kory, what was that back there? With the green and the glowing and the flying?" That didn't help cheer her up. She mumbled something and drew her knees into her chest. "Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. That was amazing, I had no idea you could do that." He sat down next to her, trying to relax for their journey--on foot--to the nearest town. Kory nestled herself into his body.

"I do not like this, Dick. I wish so many people would not have been hurt because of me...perhaps I _should_ go back with them...then they would leave you alone..."

"Don't say that, Kory. We'll get through this, I promise. They have no right to take you--or anyone else--away from their homes. We'll figure out how to stop them, forever."

She smiled sadly, resting her hand on his cheek. "I wish that were true."

"Believe me, we'll find a way." His eyes darted down to her lips, and then back up at her hopeful gaze. _This is such a bad time to be wondering about things like that, Dick. _He continued to wonder anyway. "Kory...when you, uh, kissed me--I think--back at that other planet..."

"I did what?"

"You...you kissed me..."

"A kiss is a sign of affection for humans, yes?" she asked. If they hadn't been in the middle of a crisis, Dick would have been sure her voice sounded _very _flirty. Dick nodded, flushing a bright red, but Kory had already sobered, the memory of Vic coming back to her. "On my planet, lip contact is used to learn...that is how I came to speak your language." Dick didn't know how crestfallen he looked, but obviously enough to make Kory smile. "However, I--"

"Ugh..."

"Raven!" Dick and Kory jumped up, running to their unconscious friend. It was a false alarm: she had stirred, that was all. "But this is definitely an improvement! She has not shown any sign of life for quite a while!"

"Yeah. Come on, let's get to the town. We can rent a car, get to the city, catch a plane, and head for my dad. He'll probably know what to do to get her up again." Dick added under his breath, "And he's got a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

As it turned out, they didn't have to make the journey on foot. Kory was feeling well enough to fly them close to a town (though, understandably, not _into_ it.) She explained to Dick that her powers were controlled by her emotions, and something--she wouldn't say what, but her blush had told him it _wasn't_ mainly Raven's stirring--had made her happy enough to go anywhere. Dick grabbed her hand and held onto Raven with the other, nodding at Kory.

Flying was an amazing experience. Like riding a motorcycle, but being completely weightless at the same time. Dick almost felt sorry for Raven, having to miss this mind-blowing way of traveling. "Kory, can you go faster?" he called to her over the roaring wind in their ears.

She laughed in response, zooming at a hundred miles an hour, almost too much for him. Kory slowed down after she'd had her fill of teasing him about his flapping cheeks. Flying took up a lot of her energy, though, too. She'd been underfed and beaten for so long, and she hadn't flown in years. Not only that, but it was nighttime, and she couldn't harness any more extra energy from the sun. By the end of their trip, her feet were nearly brushing the ground.

They landed about a mile off of the town, which was apparently in the middle of Oklahoma, where they were out of the eyesight of the casual observer. From there, the two took turns carrying Raven until they reached a nice-ish motel on the outskirts.

"Uh...hi. Do you have any vacancies?" Dick asked. The lady at the desk cocked an eyebrow, frowning at the bruised, strangely clothed, and dirty threesome.

"We don't serve riff-raff here."

"We've just been through a terrible car crash. My friend's in the hospital, and we need a place to sleep for the night so we can visit him tomorrow," Dick growled. "This has been a very traumatic experience, and if you deny us lodging..."

"Okay! Sorry. We have a room all the way down the hall." she drawled. "That'll be two hundred."

Kory squeezed his shoulder, wondering why he was so angry, but he just shook his head. Dick wordlessly took out his credit card and watched her swipe it through, her eyes widening.

"You're _Dick Grayson_? I'm so sorry, sir, I had no idea...I thought you were missing! It was on the news and...I'm really, really sorry." Dick took the key, and left without so much as nodding at her. "If you need anything, please let me know!" she yelled after them.

"Dick? You are...well-known on this--" He silenced her, motioning to the room.

"Lets talk about that when we're in a more private place, okay, Kory? We'll stay here until we're all rested up and then start out in the morning...after we buy everyone some new clothes..." He was still smarting from the incident at the counter. Kory nodded, crashing on the bed behind her. "Hey, hey...take a shower first, Kory..."

"You go...I will take a small nap..."

"I'm so sure," he smirked. When he emerged from the bathroom, she was out cold, and he had to wake her up again. She obliged him, stepping into the bathroom.

It was high time Bruce had any idea about what was going on. There was a phone in the room, but when Dick made the call, no one at Wayne Manor picked up. _Figures. It's about three o'clock in the morning over there..._"Hey, Bruce. It's Dick. Sorry I couldn't get in touch earlier. You were right, about what happened to me, and I just got back. I'm okay-ish, and I met up with Vic Stone. They--you know who--got him and he's...I don't think he made it. But he told me what he was a part of and I think we need to talk. I'm somewhere in Oklahoma right now, but we'll get to the nearest airport and fly over to Gotham ASAP. I'm bringing a couple of friends who need your help. Talk to you later." There. If the Gordanians somehow bugged the line, then they wouldn't know what he was taking about, right?

_I am too paranoid._

Dick laid on the bed and closed his eyes, jerking them open again when he heard a scream five minutes later. Kory crashed out of the bathroom, clad in only a towel. Before Dick could register what he was seeing, she held up a small, red, blinking computer chip.

"That's not what I think it...Kory, is that a _tracker_?"

* * *

Is that what those things were called? With the tracker on the person and then the people with the remote or something can always figure out where the trackee is? Anyway, that's how the Gordanians have always figured out where Kory was. My brother told me it was called an antelope...I think he was being serious, though, that's what scared me...


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, I've had this question for a while now, but watching Batman is not helping me out much. What is Bruce's personality like? Or even Batman's. Do they act the same, or is Bruce friendly and Batman all silent? He's a philanthropist, right? Does that mean he has to be friendly? In the next chapter (and in the rest of the story) he plays a pretty big part, so I just wanted to get him as close to real (ish) that I possibly could.

Thanks to **Dancing-StarFrenzy, kjesStar, BerryDrops, RavenSis, Jeanniestorm, cartoonfire, Daniella, tennisgal456, Karuma Kinsei, **and** WillowLeaf2560 **for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_She was so, so tired, but they had to flee. The tracking device had been destroyed, but their location was recorded. Dick's exhaustion was showing, too, but he never complained. He had told her that no Rent-A-Car agency would be open at this time of night, so they could at least catch an hour of shut eye._

_An hour turned into two, two into four, four into--BAM! The door tumbled down as four Gordanians barged in with the screaming motel manager between them. "Princess of Troqs," they hissed as Koriand'r and Dick jumped up, "this is your final warning." They pulled out terrifying, electricity-tipped staffs, causing the manager to scream and struggle even more. "This is the end of the line."_

_They were speaking in Gordanian, so Dick was unable to understand them. He could actually attempt to work out a plan with a cool head. Koriand'r, however, was caught up on one word. "YOU WILL NOT INSULT MY PEOPLE!" Her fists began to glow green, which was obviously too much for the manager, who fainted out of pure terror. The Gordanians pulled her body taut and pointed the staffs at her throat. _

_"One false move, and she dies."_

_Koriand'r could not hurt an innocent bystander, however snotty the said bystander had been to them earlier. Her anger disseminated into helplessness, and the glow began to fade. They were right. So many people had been hurt and killed already, and for what? Her freedom? What did it matter? Why should someone as insignificant as her have to cause so much pain? So many lives could be spared if the Gordanians had one...her. Even Dick would be relieved of this unexpected burden she'd thrown on him...Koriand'r glanced at him, watching him desperately search for the easy way out. There was none. She took a step forward._

_Black magic suddenly engulfed the Gordanians, freezing them all in their tracks. "Don't do it, Princess. This idiotic race has to learn that they can't always have what they want."_

"Raven!" Dick breathed in relief, smirking at the subdued Gordanians. "I can't believe how glad I am to have you conscious..."

"We'll deal with the warm, fuzzy feelings later," she deadpanned. Carefully, she extracted the manager from the Gordanians' claws. "All yours, Princess Koriand'r."

Kory's eyes and hands lit up again. "It will be my pleasure."

* * *

They found the spaceship the Gordanians had flown in on, out where no roads were within sight. There the four KO'ed bodies were deposited before the three of them flew back to the motel. The manager had just woken up, groggily wondering where she was and recalling her awful nightmare. Dick, Kory, and Raven scooted past her, not wanting to trigger any traumatic memories.

"So...Princess, huh?" Dick asked Kory as they got ready for a mid-morning nap. Raven claimed she was tired, too ("I was in a healing trance, I wasn't sleeping, you idiot.") but Dick had just waved her off.

Kory blushed. "I...yes."

"That's why those things want you back so bad?"

"Yes."

"Any reason you didn't want to tell me?"

She shrugged. "I did not think it was important."

"You didn't want me to treat you any different." A nod. "Believe me, Kory, I know how it gets. You've got to be polite all the time, meet people you don't even know or like and be forced to respect them, understand everything that's going on around you, never be yourself--"

"You forget the suitors," Kory added dully.

Dick pretended to be hurt. "Is that why you didn't want me to know?"

She threw a pillow at him.

After he was done groaning from the near-lethal wound and she was done apologizing, Kory explained herself. "It is not enjoyable to know that you will not be able to pick your own husband...and even with that knowledge, you see hundreds of men every day attempting to get your attention--"

"--Plus the annoying ones who won't stop following you around--"

"Yes! Who constantly irk you and you must put far away so they may not bother you--"

"--On Earth, we get these awesome things called restraining orders--"

"I dearly wish we had something as such."

They glanced at each other and then burst out laughing. "This is the strangest way I've ever gotten to understand a person," Dick admitted. A comfortable silence descended between them, before Dick broke it with a troubling thought. "But there's something else, Kory...when those Gordanians were here...what were you doing?"

"I do not understand," Kory said, frowning.

"You were going to go with them."

She sobered, looking away from him. "I apologize for being so weak. On my planet, everything I have done so far would have been considered dishonorable and foolish." Dick waited for her to come back onto the real topic. She sighed. "I suppose I have been away far too long...that giving up seems to be the only choice left to me. You cannot tell me that your life has not changed dramatically. Then, Raven herself was pulled to a planet that is galaxies away from her home, but not without almost being taken hostage first. Nearly every single prisoner on our ship is dead. Vic is dead. Even people I do not know, who helped us along the way, are dead. And the manager almost died today, yet I am still being hunted. Many more people will die before this is over, and I am most definitely not worth it."

"You think it'll make any sort of difference if you give up, Kory? Even if you went back, the Gordanians would keep killing people. They'd keep taking prisoners for centuries. We've been so lucky so far, I think we might get away with this. What if we actually stop them once and for all? What if we end the bloodshed that--get this--is all _their_ fault, and _not_ yours?"

"That is not possible. If Tamaran's armies could not do so, what chance do the three of us have?"

"And _that_, Kory, is what proves you haven't met Bruce Wayne yet. Maybe I didn't know about his alien project before, but I bet you, as soon as we get there, he'll be ready to take on a whole planet. He gets a lot of things done, believe me. But right now, let's not give up. At least until we get to Gotham," he asked of her. "You know that this isn't your fault. You know that whatever you're doing is right."

"Right as it may be, that cannot stop me from feeling guilty."

"I can understand that. But Kory...you _are_ worth it." She blushed and suddenly found the blankets _very_ interesting. This silence was not so comfortable. Hoping to end it again, Dick searched for something to say. A devilish smirk crept over his handsome features. "You know, Kory, I haven't gotten you back for beating me up with that pillow..."

"You are _not_ starting a pillow fight," Raven warned, stepping out of the shower. Dick grinned and threw his pillow at her, with Kory following suit. Her's was more of a threat to Raven, and was immediately focused on and stopped with magic. Dick's, however, bounced off the top of her head, leaving her dumbfounded while the other two cracked up. "Idiot. What in the _world_ would possess you to pick a fight with _me_?"

* * *

Once Dick had recovered (again) from being battered with his own pillow, the three had a small nap and set out to buy everything they would need for their journey to Gotham. Kory had stood ogling the windows of Macy's until Dick had finally been able to convince Raven to buy something for each of them. Kory had whirled through the whole store, gasping at how 'glorious' everything was and annoying the cashiers. They'd all paid a visit to the mall's food court, too, where her wrapper-eating habit was discovered by Raven and proved to be hard to control.

"What is _this_?"

"Those are ties, Koriand'r," Raven explained exasperatedly.

"And this?"

"Those are purses."

"And this?"

"Those are socks."

"And this?"

"That's cologne."

"It smells wonderful!"

"It's not for you. Why don't you get an outfit so we can leave?"

As soon as they were gone, Dick discreetly sprayed a little puff on himself.

None of them noticed the five shady figures in the windows.

At around three o'clock, they all met up, with (miraculously) only one shopping bag each. "Let's go back to the motel and change and check out--Kory, hold on, you can't eat that either. Anyway, the longer we wait, the less likely we'll get to an airport in time for us to catch a flight to Gotham."

Five scaly heads perked up at the name of the city.

"We need not catch any flight. Raven is capable of teleportation, yes?" Kory pointed out.

Raven nodded. "And I think you owe me a little bit of an explanation on what's been going on so far, and we probably can't talk about that on a plane. For one thing--" she smirked. "--_When_ did your name become Kory?"

* * *

As they walked away from town, hoping to leave behind any humans that would have otherwise been disturbed by three people disappearing in the middle of nowhere, Kory brought Raven up to speed. "Vic was truly a wonderful friend, even for a short time...but he...he is gone..." Raven actually looked sympathetic, something Dick hadn't thought her capable of.

The two girls looked like twins, with their baggy sweatshirts and jeans that covered up most of the damage the Gordanians had done. At least it wouldn't be out of place in the autumn weather. It was far better than what they had before, and they did well _not_ to make their first appearance in Gotham looking like a bunch of circus-loving hobos. "And then, while I was showering, I discovered a small tracking device on my left foot, which made Dick and I believe that--"

"Azar, Koriand'r! Why didn't you tell me that before?" Raven growled at her.

"Sorry you were out of it for who knows how long, Raven!" Dick defended. Obviously, Raven's moment of sensitivity was over.

"No," Kory said, her face paling, "I cannot believe I did not think of this!"

"Think of what?"

"I was a prisoner of the Gordanians, too, wasn't I?" Raven snapped at him, her eyes flashing red. "Now we're in danger...again! Where did you find that tracking chip, Koriand'r?" Dick finally got it, and he shuddered. Just when they thought all their alien troubles were under control...

Kory pointed down to her left foot. The tiny chip would've been covered up by any shoe except flip-flops (and Dick was pretty sure most aliens didn't wear those) and the red probably would've looked like blood anyway. Kory and Raven (and probably him, too, now that he thought about it. After all, he'd been hurt quite a few times) were covered in cuts. It was a miracle Kory found it in the first place.

Raven dug around in her shoe and winced as she plucked the little chip from her skin. Two black blades appeared out of thin air, slicing the chip to bits. "Good. Now let's get out of here, fast."

It wouldn't do them any good.

* * *

Dick hated that feeling of nothingness he always got when teleporting with Raven. He couldn't even see himself, or the other two girls. This trip was much longer than most of the others, because they were traveling hundreds of miles. By the end, Dick was shivering with cold and emptiness.

"Oh, suck it up," Raven told him.

Their arrival in the middle of one of the very few groves of trees left around Gotham had scared away much of the wildlife (that wasn't rooted to the ground, of course). Had any humans been around, they probably would've been scared out of their wits by three people popping up from the ground like plants on Red Bull, too. The rest of the animals, annoying to Raven, were chased out in a matter of seconds by black magic. Only one of them stayed.

"Shoo, you stupid cat."

It was a very, very strange cat. For one, it was green. All green. Definitely weird. Two, it's head was completely unproportionate to the size of its body. Kory thought this insanely cute, and gathered up the little animal in her arms, giggling. "Dick, the animals on your planet are quite wonderful!"

The feline was desperately wriggling to get out. Dick's eyes narrowed. "Kory, put that down. It's not norm--" The cat screeched suddenly, starting to scratch Kory. She let go immediately, jumping into a battle stance.

In a second, the cat stretched to a grosteque size (for a house cat) and the limbs grew out, the tail was sucked up, the ears moved down, the nose enlarged, and the whiskers disappeared. A green, furious man stood before them, only a little shorter than Raven, but just as intimidating at this point.

"Aliens!" he snarled, morphing into a giant gorilla to attack them.

* * *

Yay, it's Garfield!

If anybody knows about the Bruce/Batman thing, please let me know!


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to **cuteknight101, RavenSis, ArtemisMagic, kjesStar, WillowLeaf2560, XxNightfirexX, Amara-chan, TooAwesomeToRequireAName, Daniella, tennisgal456, writergirl712, cartoonfire, **and **BerryDrops **for reviewing and for the advice! I've decided to keep Bruce/Batman as just Batman's personality, since there really is no Batman or Robin in my story. So it's dark-ish Bruce and...well...Dick.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_"Dick, watch yourself!" Koriand'r yelled, diving in front of him to take the blow of the massive arm swinging in his direction. She needn't have bothered to do so, Raven had captured their attacker in a black prison. It took a lot of effort to keep him there, obviously, the strain was showing. He did NOT enjoy being held captive. He changed back into a human so he could scream at them._

_"LET ME GO, YOU STUPID ALIENS! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I WILL!"_

_"Hey! Maybe all of us AREN'T aliens, genius! We aren't here to hurt you!" Dick yelled at him. _

_"Stop moving!" Raven screeched._

_So much yelling...and no one saw the problem. Even through the black, Koriand'r could see the terrible fear in the morphing man's eyes. He wasn't angry at them, he was afraid out of his mind. "Raven! Stop! Let him go! Leave him!"_

_"Are you crazy, Koriand'r? He'll try to kill us!"_

_"Please!"_

_Raven stared at her for one more second, but obviously couldn't hold the man anymore. She dropped him roughly, ready to imprison him again at a moment's notice. He stood up again, growling at the three of them. "I'm not falling for your nice-alien act for one second! I know why you're here! I know what you're after! Don't think for one minute I don't know what you're up to!"_

_Raven stared at him, unimpressed. "Hmm. You're right. We're up to whatever you think we're up to, and we're going to get away with it, too."_

_"Don't play mind games with me!" he snarled at her._

_"Hey. Don't listen to her, she's always in a bad mood. I'm Dick Grayson...you know, the guy who's been missing. I swear Kory and Raven are completely safe. They won't do anything. We just want to get home, I'm sure you know Bruce Wayne--"_

_"I don't know anything," he said bitterly. "I've been an animal for years...all because of aliens like you!"_

_"Please," Koriand'r said, reaching out her hand to help him up. "We are also in a conflict with aliens, different ones, and are running for our lives. But I promise we wish you--and humankind in general--no harm. If you would come with us, we should be able to get help for you. We only wish to be friends." Koriand'r gave him her most imploring, puppy dog gaze. He sized her up, and for a long moment, no one moved. Koriand'r was sure he was about to morph again and strike her, but she held her ground. Then he took her hand._

_"I'm Gar Logan...and I'm trusting you for now."_

They stood in front of Bruce Wayne's huge mansion, the four of them, the strangest group Dick had ever brought back to the Manor. They marveled at the perfectly manicured lawns, the masterful architecture, and just the plain _size_ of the place.

"Holy crap, it's as big as a country! Like Hawaii!" Gar whispered.

"You really _have_ been out of it, haven't you?" Raven asked, rolling her eyes.

"It is like...the palace on Tamaran," Kory breathed, her eyes filling with tears from the memory. Dick laced his fingers with hers.

"Well...home sweet home, huh?"

* * *

"Master Dick!" His usually calm and composed butler's surprise was evident. "Welcome back."

"Thanks, Alfred. Uh, these are my friends...Kory, Raven, and Gar."

If Alfred was weirded out by them, he didn't let it show. "I trust you've had quite an adventure. Master Bruce is waiting, unless you would rather rest up first. He will understand."

"I think we'll make it through a quick talk." Everyone else was too awed by the inside to care. "C'mon, you guys. This way."

Bruce was waiting for them in his study, stoic as ever. "Evening, Dick. Long time no see."

"I'll say. Did you miss me?"

Bruce said nothing, his eyes scanning the three other people. Kory, bright and much more cheerful now that things were looking up; Raven, sizing him up right back; and Gar...who was green. Very green. And marveling at the shiny wood on the desk, making funny faces into it. Bruce didn't like them, Dick realized. They were aliens...most of them. They were all the same to Bruce, as they had once been to Dick. However much faith Dick had put in him, Bruce didn't know as much as his ward believed.

They were in serious trouble.

"Listen, how about Kory and Raven and Gar get some rest and food and you and I can talk about this in private?" Dick suggested. This was going to be a hard enough sell without having three other people interrupting. Bruce called for Alfred and everyone was taken to separate rooms, Kory leaving Dick's side rather reluctantly. "I'll meet up with you in a little bit, don't worry."

"Tell me," Bruce demanded, his attention focused completely on Dick. The entire story spilled out, every little detail. Dick was parched by the end, but he managed to at least get out their sneaky entrance into the city, that he would be able to talk to Bruce without papparazzi banging on their windows. He fell silent, waiting for his guardian to say something.

"These Gordanians are still after you?"

"I think we lost them in Oklahoma."

"Better safe than sorry."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Be ready. Alert. Maybe have some sort of protection. I'll think on it." Dick knew he was dismissed, and got up to have one of Alfred's much-missed meals. "Dick."

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from that girl."

"Kory? What's it to you?"

"She's an alien. She's dangerous. Watch yourself."

Dick scowled and left him.

* * *

"I've made up a cover story," Bruce told them later, after they had all eaten and had a nice, long nap. "Dick, you were shipwrecked on that cruise you went on in California--"

Dick paled. That hadn't exactly been _business related_. "How did you know about that?"

"You were lost at sea. Enough said. These people picked you up and escorted you home. You were held up by those flight delays all around the country."

"When is this going on the air?"

"Tomorrow night. We're having a welcome back party for you. The press will be there. Just so you can prepare yourself."

"So what's the _actual _story? You guys haven't even told me yet!" Gar exclaimed.

Kory started to brief him, but as soon as she described the Gordanians, Gar stiffened. "Them? I know those aliens."

"From what?" Bruce asked him, his eyes narrowing. Even though Gar had witnessed the greatness of this man from the minute he'd stepped on Wayne Manor's grounds, he couldn't bring himself to answer. "They're that bad, are they?"

"Not all aliens are, Bruce," Dick reminded him. Bruce's eyes were mere slits now.

"Of course. Finish, Princess."

Dick nodded as Bruce walked away. After Kory was done, Gar thought about it for a little while.

"So, wouldn't _you _have some sort of tracker on you, too?" he asked Dick.

"No. The Gordanians never had the time to come anywhere near me." Gar nodded in understanding while Dick summarized their position. "Listen, we don't have a lot right now. Bruce says it's better to keep thinking as if the Gordanians are still after us. That way, we won't be taken by surprise again. He's thinking about giving us something--I don't know what, but probably something small so we can wear it everyday without suspicion--to protect ourselves with if we ever come across a Gordanian. Obviously, you three have a lot firepower against them, but I don't, in case you haven't noticed."

Raven was about to make a sarcastic comment, but Gar cut in first. "You mean like a pen laser or something? Like, spy stuff that we put in our socks?"

"Sure."

"Cool! I've always wanted to be just like Mr. Smith!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't know anything about that?"

"Have you ever seen a movie through fly vision?"

"How many different animals _have _you transformed into, Gar?" Dick asked in awe.

"I can do whatever," he answered proudly, kicking his legs up onto the table.

"I truly thought your 'kitten' was adorable," Kory giggled. Gar grinned at her.

"That's not even the whole package. I've got animal instincts, too. That's how I knew you weren't lying when I first met you guys, Kory. Animals're smart like that. I could sniff out a watch if you lost it, and--" His chair, teetering on two legs, lost balance, but he caught himself on the table just in time and resumed his previous position. "--_And_ I'm quick as a cat!"

"Have you got nine lives, too? You might need them," muttered Raven.

"That is truly astounding!" Kory complimented.

"Oh please, I don't think he needs a swollen head. So you're human, right? How is this possible? If I'm right, most humans can't really rearrange their DNA at will," Raven pointed out. Gar's smile faded and he pulled his feet down.

"I don't like to talk about it."

"You need not. I am sure we all have things we would much rather not voice," Kory said, throwing a meaningful look at Raven. The dark girl nodded, sinking back into her chair. "However, Dick's father mentioned a party, yes? This requires special attire, does it not?"

"Yeah," Dick said, vaguely sure of where this was going.

"We must journey to the mall of shopping, then! Come, Raven! Perhaps we may be lucky enough to smell the _cologne_ again!"

"You know what's funny? I think I saw the same bottle in Dick's room after the tour of the house he gave us..." Raven smirked before being whirled away. Dick jumped up.

"Kory! Take the car, don't fly--Kory!"

* * *

"This is so beautiful, is it not, Raven?"

Raven groaned, obviously bored beyond belief. "You aren't even from Earth, Koriand'r, how do you love shopping?"

"It is very enjoyable, Raven! Come, you must show me how the 'fitting rooms' are put to use. You are able to wear the clothes without spending money for them?" Kory asked curiously. Dick finally showed up, completely out of breath and eyeing the large pile of clothes in Kory's hands.

"Uh, Bruce is rich and everything, Kory, but isn't that a bit much?"

"Do not worry, friend, I do not intend to buy any of them! That is what 'shopping' consists of, yes? Trying clothes for three hours and only purchasing one item?"

Dick sighed good naturedly. "Somehow, Kory, I think you'll fit in here just fine."

* * *

True to her word, Kory spent a grand total of _five_ hours in the mall, with a stumbling Dick, Gar, and Raven behind her, and only purchased one thing for herself and one for Raven (though Raven had never verbally given her consent.) Unfortunately, the blue-clad alien had little choice in the matter the next night, as going to a formal party in a leotard and cape wouldn't cut it.

"I've been practicing on the story," Dick murmured to his guardian before the older man could ask. "I've gone over it with Gar and Raven and Kory, they've got it, too. At least, I hope Gar does. He seems kind of forgetful."

"He's probably more trustworthy."

"What's with you?" Dick growled at him. "It's not like you to be so stereotypical! Kory and Raven are friends. They've been through a lot, and they've saved my life more times than I can count. The two of them don't deserve to be put down all the time." Bruce said nothing, and Dick knew he wasn't convinced. "You think you know so much...but you've met up with a different alien species _one time_ and you hate everything about them."

"The guests are arriving," Bruce muttered, avoiding Dick's glare to go greet them.

The huge, elaborate hall of Wayne Manor filled up quickly with important guests from all around the United States, even a few from different countries who had appeared--key word there, 'appeared'--concerned about Dick's disappearance. Kory and Raven had made no appearance, though Gar was a big hit, disgusting most of the older guests with his terrible manners and making hoardes of blonde, preppy, not-yet-twenty-years-old girls who thought he was a 'bad' rich boy fawn all over him. He'd even thought up--what he believed was, and what everyone else went along with--a practical lie for his abnormal skin color.

It was better than the lie he'd come up for Raven's jewel (or _chakra_, as she constantly reminded him). Raven did _not_ get in a fight with Queen Victoria I and get a piece of the queen's crown stuck in her forehead.

And Kory did _not_ spend three days in a tanning booth for her skin to get that orange. But that one was actually a pretty decent idea.

Dick was getting sick of repeating the same story over and over again, and really wouldn't have minded talking to Kory for a little while, or even hearing a biting comment from Raven. "So, the little green man is one of your rescuers?"

"Yes. He's part of a branch off the Blue Man Group, you know, the percussionists, but his group is green, don't ask me why. He just got back from a show, actually, he might play something later."

"Ah," said the CEO of Shlif Corp, his distaste showing. "I heard there were two others."

"Yeah, they aren't here yet. I guess they're still...getting...humnuhglhuf."

"I suppose he's rubbed off on you." Dick barely even heard the criticism. He didn't care about the guy anyway. What he _did_ care about was the goddess coming down from Kory's room, who's face lit up when she saw him. "Is she one of them, too?"

He didn't answer, instead gliding effortlessly to the base of the stairs, waiting for her. "Hey."

"Good evening. There are so many people here!"

"Yeah. Bruce tends to--"

"Mr. Grayson! Who is that? Are you together? Are you planning to make your relationship official tonight?"

"Uh...I..."

Bruce appeared out of nowhere, the very atmosphere around him icy. "They are most certainly--"

"Dating," Dick interrupted, finding his tongue.

Time out. _What the heck am I thinking?_

_You're not._

_Oh. Right. _

"We _were_ going to make our relationship official, thanks for asking. And if you don't mind, I think my _girlfriend_ wants a dance." He caught Bruce's eye, trying not to shudder at the anger he saw there. He knew he would pay for this later, but right now, he didn't care. Dick held out his hand to Kory, who took it, about to ask what was going on, but he silenced her with a kiss. With cameras flashing, they made their way to the dance floor, Kory's eyes wide with wonder. "Do you know how to dance?"

"If you will lead, I will follow."

His hand slipped on to her hip and he entwined his other with hers. The rest of the world just disappeared, he didn't even see Raven arrive on the scene (not that he would have recognized her). Dick never actually remembered enjoying dancing, but here he was, stepping in complete time. His eyes never wavered from Kory's, but he was almost sure everyone was watching them.

He didn't care.

Dick rested his forehead on hers, and she smiled as his lips brushed hers again. "Did you truly mean what you had said?"

"About being my girlfriend? Well, I normally would have asked you first..."

Her smile made him melt. "And I believe I would have said yes. It is understandable you did not, in the middle of such a crisis," she whispered in his ear. Dick agreed with that wholeheartedly. He hadn't had time to think about anything at all...one day, he ran her over; two weeks later, he was having the time of his life _dancing_ with her, of all things. "On my planet, such courtship does not exist for royals. I would have been married off to a faraway prince to keep peace."

"Then stay here."

She didn't respond. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pulled herself closer to him. "This is so wonderful." He knew what she meant. After all the terror and shock, it was so nice to relax with each other, knowing they were safer than they had been for a long time.

* * *

"Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?" Dick asked. Bruce's successful party was over, and the guests were finally gone (much to Gar's disappointment.) Dick was exhausted, but it was the first time he and Kory were alone (and not panicked) since his rash declaration, and he wasn't about to pass it up. At about two o'clock in the morning, after the movie Dick had picked out to watch in his room, he still didn't feel like letting go of her.

Kory blushed. "Many times."

"And how glad I am that--somehow--I met you?"

She found a spot on his cheek that hadn't been covered by her lipstick yet and pecked him there. "Of course. But mere galaxies could not keep us apart," she joked. "I could not have returned these affections for anyone else."

Dick kissed her again, deep and passionate, only surfacing to breathe. His hands went everywhere, suddenly hating the green silk dress he'd been ogling an hour before. Kory's fingers raked through his hair, her lips soft and dominating at the same time.

Thank goodness it was Alfred who walked by, then, and not anyone else. He dropped his gaze, closed Dick's door, and went on his merry way.

* * *

Bruce was even more quiet than before, making his anger evident. However, even he couldn't put off the fact that it was time to get down to business about the alien problem. Mostly because, that morning, strange disappearances were reported around Gotham. They were mostly black-haired, blue-eyed men who couldn't remember anything about their absence once they were returned to their homes. Dick was pretty sure the only reason no redheads or purple-haired Goths were taken was because the Gordanians would know them once they saw them for real. The three of them were only safe inside the house.

"I know you're mad. And it was stupid of me to yell it to the world back there, I'm sorry. But it would've happened one way or another. You couldn't have kept me from Kory."

Bruce was silent for a long while, poring over files and acting like Dick had never existed. Then he said, "I was only looking out for you. There are more consequences than you think, dating a fugitive alien princess you know next to nothing about. But you don't need my help." He went back to pretending he was the only person in the room.

Dick was about to lash out at Bruce, but it wouldn't have done any good. Bruce had raised him, had paid for his every need, had been like a second father to him. Now, on a matter that he thought so important, Dick had blantantly disobeyed him. It was amazing how he could say all this and more without saying anything at all.

"I'm sorry you're angry, Bruce. But I'll never regret _this_ relationship."

As soon as he'd walked out, looking for his new girlfriend, Gar bumped into him. The green man was trying hard not to panic, but he was so jittery, he could barely get his thoughts straight. "Get Bruce. Get outside. They're waiting."

"What are you--"

"Get Bruce!"

Dick did as he was told, convincing his miffed bodyguard to come outside the mansion. There, the sight that greeted them left the two nearly petrified. A Gordanian ship was hovering above the city, and right below it, some kind of hologram projector was buried in the ground. A fifty-story tall hologram Gordanian towered over a few of the office buildings in the city, smirking when Dick came out of the mansion.

"So, insolent fool. You have finally decided to show yourself, after we have memory-wiped all of your clones," it boomed. "You and our prisoners have avoided capture with too much luck. We have no choice but to give you these odds. If you do not return the Troq and the Azarathian within one of your Earth weeks to the Citadel, your planet will be completely destroyed. That week begins now."

The hologram fizzled out of existance, and the ship pulled up the projector, racing back to its home planet. Dick was pretty sure the entire city of Gotham was staring out their windows, frozen in their spots from sheer terror.

"Good job, Dick. Your girlfriend's put all of Earth in danger," Bruce commented. Kory, standing safely out of sight (though not out of earshot) ran to her room with tears in her eyes.

* * *

I'm not sure how many action-writing Fanfictors are reading this, but don't you find it hard to create a character (like Gar) when they're in the middle of a problem bigger than a World War? Just wondering...


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to **TAUT13, xxfattaeey, TooAwesomeToRequireAName, Daniella, cartoonfire, tennisgal456, BerryDrops, kjesStar, lupineeyes, Dancing-StarFrenzy, RavenSis, **and **WalterUnaForever **for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_Bruce was right, however terrible the truth was. It was all her fault. She'd known this before, but now it stared at her right in the face. If she didn't leave, everyone here would die. And whatever Dick said, she was most definitely not worth the cost._

_Dick..._

_She'd have to leave him. But it was a far better option than him and all of his kind dying out. She was going to miss him so much...this had been the happiest two weeks she'd known since she'd been taken from her home. _It is well worth leaving behind_, she told herself firmly. _I should never have met him...I have ruined his life and doomed him. He would be so much better off without me. _And she deserved to be stuck in the Citadel for the rest of her life...all seven days of it._

_One week. She could fly back to Gordania in half that time, if she worked up the strength. Koriand'r sighed, deciding to leave behind all possessions. They would be of more use to Raven here than any prisoner..._

_Wait, would Raven have to come with her too? Would the Gordanians be satisfied with only one of their escaped prisoners? However sarcastic she was, Raven was happy here. Even Koriand'r could see that. But would planet Earth still be a target if Raven chose to stay?_

_Taking a litte food for her journey, Koriand'r decided it was worth a shot. As long as the Citadel had her, the real (royal, too) prize, there shouldn't be any problems. Now, all that remained was to say good-bye to Dick..._

_"So, you heard too, huh?"_

_"Raven?"_

_"You look depressed. I figured that idiotic hologram had something to do with it."_

_Koriand'r shook her head sadly. "The Gordanians are not the ones we should accuse of idiocy. This is a 'dead end,' yes? We cannot continue fighting them, the lives of all humans are at stake. It is a hopeless cause." She noticed Raven's even-paler-than-usual face and corrected herself. "Of course, you need not leave here. The Gordanians must be satisfied with me, should the whole planet of Tamaran believe themselves insuperable because their princess escaped. But you...you have a chance for happiness here." She forced a smile on to her face, grabbing Raven's hand. "I wish you best of luck, friend."_

_She knew Raven was searching for a reason, any reason, that this was a stupid, cowardly, unnecessary plot. But there was none. Raven had not heard Bruce, so the full impact was just hitting her. There was no other way out. "Nah. If you're going, I'm not ditching you."_

"_Where_ exactly are you going?"

Both Kory and Raven whirled around to face Dick and Gar at the door of Kory's room. "Dick! I was not aware that you--"

"Obviously." He wasn't happy. "You're not thinking about listening to them, are you?"

"Well, we kinda assumed they weren't gonna pull an April Fool's," Raven shrugged.

"You can't." Gar stepped up, his gaze hard. "You can't do this. You're just giving the Gordanians what they want, and they'll keep going after people. They're so upset that you two escaped and lost them however many people, they want you back just to keep up their image. If they kill you off, that just shows they aren't that dominant. They couldn't recapture you successfully. It causes rebellion with _all_ of their prisoners. The Gordanians are covering their butts."

"Exactly," Dick managed to get out, surprised at Gar's sudden spurt of thoughtfulness. Raven and Kory exchanged shocked expressions. The green man rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on! Anyone who played _Universal Domination _ten years ago knows _that_! This is exactly what happened in that game!"

"And you _memorized _it?" Raven asked incredulously. Though it was meant as an insult, he looked rather smug.

"You wanna tell us how to beat the game?" Dick prodded.

Gar's eyes flashed, no mercy showing. "You make them pay for what they did to you. They threaten to blow up your planet, you blow up theirs. And _then _you dominate the universe!"

"What a shocker," muttered Raven.

* * *

Dick, however, had thought that a great idea. Without the dominating the universe part, that was kind of over the top. What troubled him was the fact that there were innocent Gordanians on that planet, like there were innocent humans on a planet that also supported maniacs and psychopaths. Raven and Gar shared his sentiments reluctantly. The problem was, they couldn't tell the evil ones from the innocents.

"How about we just attack the Citadel? They're the ones who want you, right? The heart. Bleed them to death!" Gar declared. The other three's eyes went wide as saucers. Gar blushed (a _very_ strange sight). "Sorry."

They were mulling over it while eating lunch, though Kory was still feeling too guilty to guzzle down anything. She looked like she believed the Gordanians would come and attack any minute. Thankfully, no TVs were on in the room. To hear the panicking that was going on about 'the end of the world' and 'aliens!' would be far too much on the poor girl.

"A raid on the Citadel?" she murmured doubtfully. "We would be killed before our spacecraft touched the ground."

"Thanks, Kory."

"I apologize, but it is very true. We would need far more than four people to successfully carry such a plan out."

"It wouldn't even matter if we had that many people. What we need to do is destroy it completely, right? We'll need explosives, and I'm guessing you can't get that at your local supermarket," said Raven.

"No. But we could let Bruce know about it, I'm sure his whole section of alien hunters has something. I'd ask if we could finally get to see these people, but it would be kind of awkward...plus, I think they'd--uh, take a closer look at you guys, to put it lightly. With even Bruce so prejudiced, I don't want anyone else near you. Gar included. Whatever happened to you was alien-related, am I right? I don't want anybody investigating into that," Dick explained.

Gar didn't answer.

"So...we've got Mr. Wayne's agents, money, and influence. We have an almost nonexistent chance of success...which was better than what we had before," Raven observed.

"You are completely sure you wish to do this?" Kory asked of them, before they sought out permission to proceed. "You are aware that, to plant these explosives, we may have to land on the Citadel itself? To participate in this raid, we may come in contact with unfriendly Citadelians?"

Gar snorted. "Are there any friendly ones?"

"We probably won't get out of this alive, either way." Ah, good old Raven. Always the one to put everyone's biggest fears out in the open.

"It's definitely worth a shot. We'll ask Bruce."

* * *

Raven and Gar had long since left to their rooms, hoping to catch Bruce when he came back from work later. Dick had decided to take an impromptu vacation from work, at least until all of this was over. Even with the end of the world approaching, reporters were banging on the doors, trying to get the full story on Dick's previous absence. Another reason for them to be stuck inside the house.

At least Dick was using his time productively.

"You really think we will get through this?" Kory said between kisses.

"You still think leaving me was the best way to go?" Dick countered teasingly, pulling her closer.

"I wish it was not."

"I'll prove you wrong, Kory."

She smiled at him. "I cannot wait." They spent another fifteen minutes connected at the lip. "Will Bruce approve of this scheme?"

"Of course he will. I'm sure he thinks this is kind of important."

* * *

"No."

"But it's the only way to save--" Dick started.

"No."

"Why not?" Gar asked angrily. "You won't save your own planet?"

"Of course I do. Killing innocents is not the way to do it," said Bruce.

"And Kory and Raven aren't innocents?" growled Dick.

"I never said that."

"If I may speak," Kory cut in, "most of them are not very innocent. The Citadel is a brutal and violent race, and is employed in such schemes, whether it is to conquer whole planets or bounty hunt. They are not a very nice people."

"And what about the Gordanians that have colonies on the planet? What do they do?" Bruce pointed out.

"Support them," huffed Raven.

Bruce sighed, evidently thinking it over. "What you're asking for would probably be the equivalent of an atomic bomb. No way a regualr civilian could get their hands on that, and I wouldn't trust you with it anyway. Too much radiation. You need something simpler, something cleaner." _He's considering it, thank goodness, _Dick breathed. Kory and Raven still had a chance. "Let's go down to the lab."

"What lab?" questioned Gar.

"The one I've been hiding for thirty three years."

* * *

As much as Dick didn't want Bruce's anti-alien team anywhere near his friends, he didn't have much of a choice. They walked into the living room, where Bruce approached an innocent-looking grandfather clock, setting the time to 10:47. The clock swept outwards, revealing a staircase down to an under-the-basement room of Wayne Manor that Dick hadn't even known existed.

"Whoa," Gar murmured.

The lab was gigantic, one room sprawling the entire length of the mansion above. Shelves upon shelves of vials were stacked against the walls. In the middle of the floor was a huge microscope, a tube of strange liquid, and a giant, blinking machine whose use was unpredictable.

Only a couple of people were down there, and judging by the dark circles under their eyes, had arrived very early in the morning. Probably how Dick hadn't noticed them arrive at the Manor. "Good evening, Mr. Wayne. We have a brief report to make about the situation at hand," one of them told Bruce immediately upon arrival.

"Proceed."

"We've put a couple agents out to look for the 'Troq' and 'Azarathian,' obviously two alien objects--AHH!" Kory pinned the scientist up against the wall, her eyes burning a bright green.

"How _dare_ you insult--"

"Kory! Let him go, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Dick tried to pull her arm off of the man, but it wouldn't budge. "He's just repeating what the Gordanians said! He wasn't trying to insult you, Kory, I swear...just let go..."

Her anger died down, and she released the terrified man. "I apolgize. But from now on, you will use the term _Tamaranian_."

"Of c-course. I'm s-so sorry."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Maybe your friend should wait outside."

"She's fine," Dick replied stiffly. "You wouldn't get it." That didn't help the tension.

"You didn't need to send out the agents, you know," Gar told the man. "We've got them right here." He pointed at Kory and Raven.

"I think he figured that one out," said Raven dryly.

"Call the agents back. Tell them we have what we need. Then, prepare them for deep space. I have a mission for them to go on." The man nodded, throwing one more sideways glance at Kory, and walked over to a blinking board with a huge screen stuck to one of the walls.

The four were introduced to the E-bomb, an explosive characerized by its use of a meteorite-based atomic structure, something they couldn't have found on Earth. "Dug out of Meteor Crater, in Arizona," said one scientist.

"What does the 'E' stand for?" Gar asked.

A ghost of a smile flickered across Bruce's face. "Environmentally friendly."

"Dick," Kory whispered. "I am afraid I do not understand the joke."

"It's old-people's humor, Kory. Don't worry about it. However environmentally friendly they say this bomb is, it's probably a bad idea to be in its way."

Then they were moved to a different section of the room, where someone else gave them a thick packet. "All we know about the life outside of this planet is in here. It might help you out." He handed it to Dick. "Also, Mr. Wayne, project CYBORG was a success. And the agent is ready to rejoin battle."

"Project Cyborg? What's that?" Dick asked interestedly.

A section of the wall that had looked very camouflaged suddenly slid open, revealing a little room and two figures inside. One was an average looking scientist, the other, a six-and-a-half-foot-tall half-man, half robot. "Yo, Grayson! Long time no see!"

"_Vic_?"

Agent Stone smiled grimly, flexing his right arm. His (now metal) hand shrunk back into his arm, and in its place, a hole remained. Quickly, it charged up with white hot energy. A sonic cannon. "It's gonna take a lot more than a few aliens to put _me_ outta commission. Remember? Danger's in the job description." He looked at Gar and his one eyebrow shot up. "Hey! You're green!"

* * *

Okay, LOTS of explaining to do this chapter.

First off, I cannot find anywhere how old Batman is. So for the time being, in this story, he's fifty-four. Just to work with my story.

Secondly, I have something in here that makes no sense with the comics whatsoever, (it's not in this chapter, but will be coming up soon) and I want it in there for my story. I mean, obviously, some parts of the story haven't made sense with the comics already, but this kinda sticks out for me. It has to do with the clock thing...apparently his parents died at 10:47...but that's not what I was thinking when I wrote this. Oh, and this is set in 2008...

Thirdly, I'm pretty sure Batman knew about the Batcave for more than thirty three years (when he was fifty-four) but...again, important to a very small aspect of my story.

Fourth, haha, let's all laugh at Harry Potter Fan 1994 for not being able to keep the secret...no Vic's NOT dead, obviously...hmph. You guys just HAD to ask, didn't you? Lol...kidding. And if it confused anybody, no, he doesn't know Gar, I just figured this was as good a place as any to start the bickering.

Just wanted to get the Batman questions answered, because I'm totally reinventing everything right now and I hope it all makes sense!


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you to **RavenSis, cartoonfire, TAUT13, kjesStar, BerryDrops, Somewhere In Time, tennisgal456, Dancing-StarFrenzy, WalterUnaForever,** and **THUGG** for reviewing the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

_This was it. The final stand. The last battle. However grim Koriand'r made it sound, it didn't matter to her. She was doing the right thing. She was with friends. She was about to die, but she was going to save lives. The thought boosted her confidence until she soared. Literally._

_"Kory, get down here," Dick chuckled. "It's time to board the spaceship."_

_She blushed and landed, taking Dick's hand. "I believe it is time for you to prove me wrong, yes?"_

_"Definitely. How long will it take to get there?"_

_"Three days."_

_"Mmmhmm...good. Plenty of time."_

_"For what?" Koriand'r asked curiously._

_"For this." He kissed her deeply, stopping when he heard Vic and Gar's groan of disgust. Dick rolled his eyes. "Well. You two are getting along pretty well."_

_"Not as well as _you_ two," smirked Vic. "Ready to go? Or would you rather finish making out first?"_

_Koriand'r ignored Dick's blush. "We are ready! Come, Raven! It is time to go!"_

"Roy Harper."

"Alan Rivers."

"Karen Beecher."

"Jenny Xing."

"Toni Monetti."

"Wally West."

"Collette Kingston."

"Gregor Armstrong."

Agent Jericho Wilson smiled politely.

Dick, Raven, Kory, and Gar were meeting--for the first time--the crew they would be flying with. Made up of about twenty people from all around the States (and a couple from Mexico) they were all the Earth had in protecting itself from the unknown forces that lay beyond the galaxy.

"At least, that's what Mr. Wayne says. He makes it sound all deep and stuff, but honestly, it's pretty fun. Thing is, it hasn't been life threatening up until you disappeared and Vic found you," said Agent West. "We were all terrified when we heard what happened it him. I mean, we'd heard things might get bad, danger's--"

"In the job description," Dick finished.

"Yeah. But we were all sure he wouldn't make it. Good thing Bruce is so rich, he got all those doctors to help our little Cy out."

"Little," Vic snorted. "Right, Wally."

Agent Harper grinned. "Wally still remembers that football game in high school year, Vic, don't worry..."

"Football?" Kory inquired.

"Yeah. Man, I beat Wally so bad, his own best friend pants'ed him after it!"

Agent West rolled his eyes. "Best friend. Uh huh. Isn't that right, Rivers?" Agent Rivers looked up from his poker game with a couple of the girls, trying not to crack up. "Oh, don't even pull that on me. I know you were listening."

"So...you all know each other?" Raven asked, surprisingly into the conversation. It was strange, actually. Girls seemed to flock to Agent Rivers, a lot like they used to do to Dick in school. Evidently, Alan was single.

"Most of us are from around the Gotham area, since that's where Mr. Wayne stays most of the time. Miguel and Manny over there, they're the farthest out. Toni didn't go to high school with us, either, she immigrated from...where, Toni?"

"Italy," she called back, returning to the poker game in time to kick Alan's butt.

"Ouch," muttered Alan, eyeing his lost money. "Well...I kinda just made up a new rule."

"And what is that?" asked Toni slyly.

He pulled her a little closer, much to the dismay of the other female agents. "Loser has to kiss the winner."

A collective groan arose from the other men, while Gar insisted, "Hey! Any of you ladies want to play poker with me?" Raven pulled him out of the poker circle by the ear. "Never mind..."

"I believe I will enjoy this game very much..." Kory giggled into Dick's ear.

"We don't have to play, if it's just the loser-kiss-winner thing that you want..." he murmured.

Vic threw up his hands. "What is this?! A makeout party?"

"_Warning. Asteroid belt approaching. Please fasten your seabelts. The spaceship may have to change course slightly to avoid space debris."_

* * *

A very shaken up and bruised group exited the belt after a wild ride, praying their landing was soon. The spaceship itself had avoided most of the asteroids, but the 'advanced form of autopilot, able to detect and avoid anything in its path' could not detect its passengers' discomfort.

"I think I'm space-sick," groaned Gar, looking even greener than usual.

Kory agreed. "Truly, that was the worst flight I have ever experienced. And I have been on a slave ship every other time I have flown in space."

"That'd be something to tell those high-and-mighty scientists over at the ET Lab," muttered Agent Harper. "They think they're _so_ amazing..."

"Hey, y'all! We're gettin' a message from Mr. Wayne!"

Bruce's voice sounded throughout the cabin, rough and weak due to lack of connection. After all, they were millions of miles away from home. "Going well?"

"Yeah. A little bumps along the way but not much else. We're running pretty well, no problems with the ship. Actually, you guys might wanna fix up the autopilot, it's a little out of whack. We're about twenty-seven hours away from destination."

"Good. Apparently, there were Gordanians hiding out on Earth...they weren't informed that you'd decided to leave. A couple of them decided to attack a nearby city, as incentive for us to send the girls back."

Dick ran his hand through his hair, growling in frustration. All of the agents were billions of miles away! "I can't believe I didn't think of this! How are you going to get rid of them once they hear we've attacked the Citadel?"

"We're gearing up the scientists. Not my first choice, but a suitable plan B."

That would barely work. Half of them were over fifty years old and very out of shape. "We'll be back ASAP, Bruce. Can this thing go any faster?"

"Potentially dangerous, but what the heck," Vic said, flipping a couple switches. "It was great workin' for you, Mr. Wayne. I'm cutting the connection now."

"Good luck."

"Get ready for hyperspeed, y'all!"

And they zoomed off so fast, their cheeks were flapping.

* * *

Nighttime over the Citadelian planet proved a very effective cover. Maybe clouds covered the planet all the time, or maybe it was about to rain, but there was a thick blanket all around them. Vic frowned, looking at the readings on his screen. "The water that makes up these clouds is highly acidic. Shouldn't do much to the spaceship in the time it takes to land, but if it starts to rain, don't get caught outside. Their houses probably provide some shelter, because this would be kinda painful on bare flesh. Must be really polluted."

From what they could see, the planet was a barran wasteland. Dry sand blew in tiny, virtually harmless tornados. There were no trees, no rivers, nothing but a few clumps of strangely built structures that Dick took for cities. Obviously, the Citadel had ruined their planet to a degree that none of them wanted to live here any longer. No wonder they conquered other species.

"The Citadel are some of the oldest species in our solar system," Kory said, as if reading his thoughts. "They have long since branched out--for lack of a better term--to other planets. Most had no choice, not that they wanted one. The planet now gives its last resources to the most powerful of the Citadelians...the ones that must be taken care of today."

A collective shudder passed through the group at her words. The gloomy planet had put a damper on all of their spirits.

"You know where to go, Kory?" Vic asked, cutting into the silence.

"No. But I will know if we are there when I see it."

They zoomed over the planet, taking in the harsh landscape and ghost towns. "Reminds me of the Old West," joked Gar. "I've wanted Clint Eastwood's autograph for a while now anyways. You think we'll meet him?" No one responded.

A sudden, familiar jolt knocked them out of their reverie. "We're being attacked!"

Vic swerved around the spaceship to face its opponent. Dick's breath caught. They were outnumbered at least thirty to one.

"Oh, shoot."

And Vic did.

* * *

"The ship is sectioned off. Five different parts can operate by themselves. Divide and _don't _get conquered." Raven finished her explanation (very calmly, under the circumstances) and turned to one of the sections. Dick grabbed Kory's hand and ran towards another end. Four doors were opened, and the smaller ships filled. They separated and flew off in different directions.

"I hope this works," Dick muttered.

"Me too." Roy and Jericho boarded the life-rocket with them. "Keep communications going. This is gonna get messy, we need all the help we can get."

Several more detonations rocked the ship. The Citadelians were getting closer, and their targets were easier to hit in close range. "Hurry!"

The next few minutes were indeed _very_ messy. Roy had taken over the handling of the ship, and was expertly dodging oncoming missiles. "Somebody, _fire on them!_"

Jericho swung into a nearby chair and immediately flipped several switches, pressed random buttons, and typed commands onto a tiny screen with nimble fingers. Dick couldn't follow any of it.

Roy swerved the ship up close to a Citadelian make. Dick had a split-second view of stunned Gordanians before Jericho opened fire on them. The soldiers were disintegrated in a fiery instant.

Behind them, in front of them, all around them, a fierce battle raged. The agents were putting up a spectacular fight, but--in horror--Dick watched as one of their ships went spiraling down to the ground. "We've lost someone!"

"That was Gregor and Colette. They're still alive, don't worry, their ship is damaged," Roy grunted, concentrating on his task. "Dick, Kory, feel free to figure out how to use the port side missiles. As long as it blows something up, I don't care how you damage it."

"Thanks." Dick grabbed another chair and sat down, overwhelmed by the whirring, blinking dots and dials. "Here goes nothing."

He slammed random buttons until Kory stopped him, one slender finger flicking a single switch. A screen appeared in front of him, calmly advising him to wear a seat belt and informing him that there was no ammunition.

"They've blown them all off," Roy said grimly. "We're going to have to work with what we've got."

Kory stared at the wall. "There is an escape hatch."

"Yeah. So?"

Without answering, she twisted it open. An acrid smell filled the cockpit. "Kory! What're you doing? You'll get hurt--" Dick yelled over the roar of the winds and blasts that could now be heard at their normal decibel level. She just smiled sadly at him and flew out, replacing the hatch door before the acidic clouds could damage the fragile humans inside.

Outside, Kory was firing up her star bolts. Dick had never before seen how much damage those things could do. "Hell," breathed Roy, watching her shoot. "Don't you dare forget your guys' anniversary, Dick."

"If we get there," he murmured, pressing his nose to the glass. Kory had already taken out one ship, and was currently barraging two more to the best of her ability. Roy turned the ship around so Jericho could hit something that was a safe distance away from her, and Dick's visual was lost.

There were still about ten Citadelian/Gordanian ships left in the skies. A little while longer, and more would come. They were going down faster than Dick had thought they would, but so were the Earthlings. In addition to Colette and Gregor, Karen, Manny, Miguel, and Alan were down. There was no communication signal from their collapsed ship.

Raven emerged from the main ship, enveloped in a cocoon of black energy to prevent the clouds from burning her. From this position she could effectively jab into ships (sometimes grabbing hostages) and destroy them one at a time. It was proving a good strategy.

A well-placed missile knocked into their ship and jerked Dick off his feet. A large hole had been blown in their hull. They needed to land. Roy regained control with much difficulty, and led the ship in a slow spiral path to the ground. Dick suddenly saw Kory again, but her skin was looking a lot redder...

"Get her inside!" he cried suddenly. "She's getting burned!"

"I can't do anything, Dick," Roy said helplessly.

"But she--" He choked on his own breath.

Kory had been shot at.

One second she was there, next, he couldn't see her at all. "KORY!" He banged on the windows, begging to be let out, but Jericho got up and restrained him. There was no sign of her anywhere. But she couldn't be gone...no way, no how. It'd been over so fast...

Dick barely noticed when they landed. He ran out of the ship, towards the spot Kory had been flying over.

"Dick, wait! There's--"

A raindrop fell on his outstretched hand, eating right through his skin.

* * *

It took SO LONG to get inspiration for this chapter...so I just wrote without it. I just want to get to the last chapter!!


	11. Chapter 11

Hey!! HarryPotterFan1994 here! Does anyone remember me? *knocks at the theoretical wall* Hello? I know I've been gone a long time...I'm sorry. I was experimenting to find out whether I was really addicting to FanFiction or not!!! Turns out, I am... :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

_S__tarfire was in an unbelieveable amount of pain. The rocket had burned her, took a good chunk out of her side, and she was bleeding freely. Her head and spine were splitting open, probably from her less-than-graceful crash landing, and the rain continued to send sharp slices of agony through her whole body in spasms. She fought to stay conscious._

_"Dick...Dick, please..."_

_There was no chance he would hear her. She couldn't even scream properly. Hot tears rolled down her face, and she could do nothing to wipe them away. Her vision blackened, and she welcomed the peace with all of her dying heart._

"We HAVE to find her!" Dick roared, fighting against Vic's grip. "Let me GO!"

"Calm down enough to listen, will you?" The team had run to the nearest shelter they could find, knowing back up for the ships was bound to come soon. They couldn't fight in an acid rain storm, the risks were even higher. Currently they were hiding out in a civilian home; where the said civilian was, they had no idea. "We're running a scan over the ground around us. We can't go out into that kind of storm and wander around, there has to be _something_ for us to find. As soon as we do, Raven's okay enough to conjure up something to protect us while we walk. We'll get her, I promise."

Dick went limp, his eyes completely dull. "She's out there."

Even he wasn't sure what he meant. Dick was dependant on the fact that she hadn't been blown apart by the Gordanians, but out in all that rain...

"Let's go," muttered Raven darkly. Dick hadn't even noticed she was hurt, but she kept it covered well. "Dick, Vic, come with me. Everyone else, stay here."

Dick wasted no time in running outside, and Raven barely had a second to put up a barrier. "Where do we go?" Dick growled at Vic.

"North." They ran, following Vic's directions until Dick spotted a smudge of a body in the distance.

"KORY! KORY!" He sprinted towards her, and Raven extended her barrier to include the alien under it. Dick knelt by her side, brushing her hair out of her face. Her skin was so, so cold. "Is she..."

"I can't tell. Bring her back to the shelter, I can't hold this long enough for us to figure it out here," Raven said, blinking beads of sweat out of her eyes. "Grab one of my arms. Hold on to Kory."

As if Dick had any intention of letting go of her.

This time, he expected the nothingness as they traveled inside the ground. It didn't feel much different from what state he was in already. The journey was quick and difficult on Raven's part, but when they emerged, he could barely tell that his worry had lifted slightly. It scared him.

* * *

Vic had taken Kory away. Raven had gone with him. Everyone else was busy watching for Citadelian guard or restraining Dick. The rain refused to let up, but was instead falling in thick sheets, pretty much eroding the ground.

"This is disgusting," Alan said. "How does anyone live here? A couple more hours and I might wanna go blow up another planet, too."

Dick got up, and a couple of people made to hold him down, but he waved them off. "I just want to see her. I won't do anything stupid." He turned on his heel and left the room, entering a labyrinth of hallways he hadn't expected from such a small (in comparison to Wayne Manor) house. Sure he had taken a wrong turn somewhere, Dick wandered until he began to hear voices.

"Let go of me, you stupid animal!" That was unmistakably Colette. A hiss that sounded like a snake on laughing gas emitted from behind a wall. Dick could not find a way into that room.

"Inssssults won't help you or your friendsss, watch girl. They'll never know we're in here...and you mossst definitely won't be telling them..." Dick didn't know what exactly happened next, but it sounded like a blade had cut through human flesh. In any case, Colette was silenced. No longer caring about a door, Dick jammed his elbow into the wall as hard as he could. Thankfully, it was flimsy enough to break.

The Gordanians inside were so surprised to see him, they froze. One of them was holding Colette's body, his arms covered in a red, red substance that gushed from her throat. The other was holding a blood-covered knife. Dick would've puked, but he didn't have time. In one battle-cry fueled punch, he'd knocked the blade-wielding lizard out. It took the second one a split second to drop Colette's body, but that was a split second too long. A second roundhouse took care of him.

"Dick!"

Breathing hard, Dick glanced up. Karen stood there, followed by a few other people. "I heard you yell--"

Gregor bellowed suddenly, spotting Colette's body. His eyes snapped to the unconscious Gordanians. In seconds, he was on top of one of them, beating its lights out. No one bothered to do anything about it.

"Get Colette out of here," Karen commanded shakily to no one in particular. "When Greg calms down, take him, too. Dick, come with me. There might have been other agents that've been...taken out."

There was one more. Harold was out for the count. Both the bodies were deposited with Vic, who took them gravely.

"We need to do something. Now," Dick muttered to the remaining agents when he and Karen reappeared in the common area. "I don't know who those two were working for, but it doesn't matter. They found us. More are going to find us, and they're going to try to kill us. We can't have anybody else hurt."

"So what do we do?" asked Gar.

"I think I might have something." A raven shot up from the ground, revealing a heavily bandaged sorceress inside. "On the way back from getting Kory, we passed under a building a few Earth miles off. There was a large gathering of Citadelians and Gordanian guards. I'm guessing there's a meeting of some sort. If we can get someone in there, plant an explosive, and leave, we could take out a good number of them."

"How do you know this?" Toni questioned.

"We can have an in-depth discussion of what I can do later. What we need is some sort of portable shelter to take someone--"

"I'll go," Dick said at once. She shook her head.

"You humans won't stand a chance if you were attacked upon."

"Neither would you," argued Gar. "You look like a mummy, and I bet you're halfway there. I could fly inside and--"

"Would you know how to code a bomb, Gar?"

"Well, can you transform into a T-Rex?"

"Well, I have a--"

"Well, I could--"

"Well, I--"

"STOP!" Dick shouted. Everyone turned and shushed him. "This isn't getting us anywhere. What exactly are we planting?"

Alan tossed a hockey-puck shaped object at him. "It's Mr. Wayne's. Well, obviously, but I meant he made that one from scratch. Has a blast radius of about fifty yards."

"This little thing?"

"Yeah. Lots of punch. Once it's set, you've got two minutes to get out of the place."

"Good, that's plenty of time. Raven, I want you to take me."

"Why? That's more load than I need, Dick."

"Just do it. There's someone who might be there that I want to talk to."

"Dick, this really isn't the time to settle scores. Whoever it is might get blown to pieces anyway."

Dick grit his teeth against his conscience. "Let's just make sure of that."

* * *

Again, Dick found himself traveling through nothing with Raven. It was slower and jerkier, as if something was tugging them back. Even he could tell, through his hate-filled thoughts of traveling like this. Finally, they surfaced in an empty hallway, with Raven breathing hard. She was even paler than usual, and sunk down to the floor, clutching her side. "Go," she gasped. Dick wasted no time.

He trekked quietly, listening for even a slight murmur of voices. Once he found them, his pace increased. There was a room at the end of the hall that appeared to be full of aliens. Dick gently placed the disk on the door and pressed the only button on it.

It beeped.

There had been someone speaking just on the other side of the door. The speaker stopped, and the knob began to turn. Dick had nowhere to hide.

The head that poked out, though, was a familiar one. In fact, it was just who Dick had been hoping to see. It broke into an evil grin at the sight of him. "Ah...my only human passenger, back from the dead. Perhaps you humans make better trade than I realized. You seem to have nine lives."

"Captain," Dick spat out.

"This will only take a moment," the Q'sta captain called into the room. He stepped out. "Why don't you be a nice slave and stand still while I--ugh!" With all his strength, Dick pounded him in the head. It didn't knock the captain out. Dick hadn't expected it to.

"You will _pay_," he seethed, "for what you've done to Kory." A well-placed kick to the stomach made the captain double over. "You don't deserve to _live_, you filthy"--punch--"cowardly"--kick--"idiotic _bastard._" The captain was wheezing for breath, still too shocked to realize what was happening. Dick pinned him to the wall, lifting him a full six inches off the ground with the strength his anger gave him. "You see that clock? That's how much time you've got left to live. You and all your sick friends. Say your prayers." Dick would've been lying if he said he didn't enjoy the fear that crossed the lizard's face before he pounded its head on the wall, no longer caring who heard. The captain was out cold, and Dick had about a minute left.

He ran back to Raven, who looked even worse than before. "I can't," she wheezed, shaking her head. "I can't go."

_This _was not expected.

"Raven, you don't need to take me. Just get yourself out of here."

_"No._" Her body convulsed with the word.

"Raven, please." He bent down to grab her shoulders. "Please, get out of here. I need you to leave. We don't have much time!"

"_I can't_."

Dick heard screams. Someone had found the bomb. People were panicking, and that meant they didn't have time enough to leave the building.

"Raven, GO!"

_The sky is falling!_ The roof was torn off completely. Dick would've thought it was the explosion, but there was no fire. Instead, a huge Gordanian ship hovered over them, with Kory flying out of the escape hatch to grab him. Dick held Raven as they soared into the air, feeling the heat of the blast behind him.

* * *

One more chapter left! Which I promise I will finish. And I'll finish Escaping Egypt, too. I don't really know after that. Alright then...well, it'll be nice to talk to everybody again!


	12. Epilogue: The ETRTHG

Thanks so much to the three people who reviewed: **Jeanniestorm, contagiousCHRISTian, **and** Dancing-StarFrenzy! :)**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Now on with the epilogue...

* * *

**The Extra-Terrestrial Related Trauma Help Group: First and Last Meeting**

No one really wanted to start. Vic looked around and suddenly went, "1, 2, 3, not it!"

"Not it!" chorused Dick and Raven.

"Not it...?" tried Kory.

"Not--aw..." Gar looked around for help, and though everyone was sympathetic, they didn't offer it to him. Better now then never, anyway. He took a deep breath, and the atmosphere turned much more serious. "Okay. Um...ten years ago, I was in middle school--and happy. I didn't really do that well, but at least I had everything a normal human being should have. Then, one night, I was out late trying to get this hurt owl back into its natural habitat--don't ask. It was a hobby. I wanted to be a vet when I grew up..." He paused and started again. "This UFO came out of nowhere. All I remember is looking up and then trying to get the owl to fly away, and I got knocked out.

"When I woke up, I was actually on the ship. There were a whole bunch of people in baggy blue suits that were looking at me and speaking in this weird language. I never saw what they looked like, but I didn't want to. They kept me in a cage at night, they fed me weird stuff that I didn't even want to look at, but the worst part was during the day, when they tried to experiment on me. Most of the experiments didn't do much, and I think that got them kind of mad. Then one day, they brought in this monkey. At least, it would've been a monkey, if it hadn't been green. The thing bit me, and I...now I'm like this." He motioned to his green skin. "I was sick for so long, they thought I would die. They dropped me back to Earth and left, but I haven't forgotten them. I would know that spaceship anywhere, and they'd better hope I never see them again..."

Kory put a comforting arm on Gar's shoulder. "I am sorry. There are many evils in space that Earth has yet to experience, but species of that kind are most definitely the worst."

"You said you knew the Gordanians, Gar," Raven, the unofficial mediator, urged softly. Even she couldn't work up a biting comment to that kind of story.

"They were the guards on the ship. They had a tendancy to hurt anyone that wasn't wearing one of those stupid suits."

Again, the room was silent. Dick broke it. "You next, Vic."

"What's there to tell? Everyone knows my story. I worked for Mr. Wayne for five years. Dick went missing, and I tracked him down. Then those Gordanians got me, nearly killed me off, too. The end."

"That's not it at all, Vic. Your parents. The reason you joined up with Mr. Wayne," Raven suggested.

"Is she allowed to do that?" Vic asked Bruce. The older man inclined his head.

"Even I could tell you were hiding something. Raven cannot read minds."

"Fine. They were killed. My dad was a scientist. He got in a bad way with some aliens who didn't like where his theories were going. I don't know what happened, exactly, I was pretty young. The aliens killed my mom and dad and I was stuck in some orphanage for eight years."

Raven nodded, satisfied. "Kory?"

Kory sighed. "There is much to tell."

"We have time."

"I...am not a normal Tamaranian. My powers were given to me by a series of experiments preformed on me by the Psions. It was not a pleasant time. I escaped from them, and returned to Tamaran, where I remained for many of my childhood years before I was traded to Gordania as a slave. I was to be moved to the Citadel, where I would have been worked to death, had I not escaped and landed here." She reached for Dick's hand, and he smiled at her.

Raven cleared her throat. Kory sighed.

"I was also the princess of Tamaran before the treaty was made. That is all."

"Wait, what?!" Gar cried. "That was kind of important! Why didn't you say that first?"

"A princess, Kory? Is that why they were all over trying to get you back as prisoner?" Vic exclaimed.

Kory said nothing. Raven rolled her eyes. "Dick, your turn."

Dick thought for a while. How could he possibly relate what had happened to him in these last few weeks in one speech? It wasn't at all possible to describe all the trauma and worry and pain and fear. But there had been a lot more in this adventure, too. He'd found so many friends, discovered how big of a place the universe was, met the girl of his dreams, and visibly improved his temper. He couldn't even remember the times when he'd automatically hate everyone around him, especially if things weren't going his way. That night so long ago, when the entire nation's airports were down, seemed so far away.

"You guys were with me the whole time. There's not a lot to say. I was an airhead prettyboy before, and now I'm an airhead prettyboy who's saved a planet."

Bruce looked like he wanted to agree.

"But it was a great ride..."

"True that. Might've been better without the fire, though," Vic seconded.

"Raven?"

Her answer came swiftly. "I am an alien. All the trauma I've ever experienced was extra-terrestrial related, and I'm not going to sit here talking about it. Well..." She eyed Dick. "You were a bit traumatizing at first. Should I talk about that?"

Gar breathed out in relief, but Raven caught the movement. "Don't think I've forgotten about you. In my _tea_, of all places."

"Heh...from a bird's point of view, it kinda looked like a potty...I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

"That should've been videotaped," Vic guffawed.

"Well, I think it's time to wrap this meeting up," Dick interrupted.

Kory giggled and stood. "Until next time, my traumatized friends." She hugged everyone and kissed Dick goodnight before going to her assigned room in Wayne Manor.

Gar snored. "I'll take him," Raven muttered. "'Night." She engulfed Gar in an envelope of her energy, noticably larger than it had to be. Hopefully the poor guy wouldn't wake up.

"Yeah, I think I'll head in, too. Thanks for letting me stay, Mr. Wayne," yawned Vic.

"No problem. Until we get a charger for you installed in your home, you have no choice but to stay here at night. I'll send people tomorrow."

Dick waited until everyone was gone, and then spoke up. "You know, you were supposed to have a turn, too. That's why I made you sit through all of that."

"I know."

Nothing came. Bruce got up and watched the first snowfall out of his window, staring at his expectant ward out of the corner of his eye.

"Another time, Dick."

Dick nodded, disappointed. "Good night, Bruce."

He had no intention of going to sleep. He crept along silently, into the living room, and set the time on the huge grandfather clock to 10:47. The entrance to the ET lab opened silently. Down he went, stepping on to the perfectly polished floor.

There was a computer at the very end of the large room, just as Dick suspected to find. He turned it on and searched through the oldest files.

_Why did this agency even start?_

An article from November 1974 popped up on the screen.

_Strange Sightings in Gotham City._

The picture on the screen was blurry, but it was unmistakeably a Tamaranian woman.

"I knew you wouldn't leave this alone."

Dick whirled around to see Bruce behind him. "I...uh..."

"Kory looks just like her mother."

Dick was dumbfounded.

"Another time, Dick. When everything's settled." Bruce stared at the picture, almost seeming...wistful. At least, he was too out of it to get mad at Dick, who high-tailed out of there with his head spinning. But every time he tried to gather his thoughts, Kory's mother stared at him through the fear-filled eyes the camera had shown.

_A crash landing..._

_...A dangerous quest..._

_...A budding romance..._

_...Taken away in a moment._

It was so familiar.

"Kory!" He nearly knocked her door down. Kory sat up in her bed, eyes wide.

"Are they here again?"

"No. Just promise you won't leave...and go back to Tamaran and..." Wouldn't he hate Kory's daughter too, then? If he'd known she'd left him to go marry some prince and rule her planet, would he have been able to look at her children without wishing they'd never existed? How could Bruce ever forgive him for being so cruel?

"Dick, what's wrong?"

He sat on her bed, waiting to gather his thoughts before he spoke. "There's something that you should probably know."

* * *

_You know, Luand'r...you've taught your daughter well. At least, it wasn't as hard to patch up her arrival to this planet, _Bruce mused to himself. _Thank goodness she's more loyal to Dick than you were to me._

_A secret cave..._

_...The world's smartest people..._

_...The world's best equipment..._

_...A single goal..._

_...He had to find her..._

_...But when he did, it didn't matter._

Bruce remembered it like it was yesterday.

_

* * *

_Did it work? It wasn't too cheesy or stupid, was it?

Let me know. I wanted it to work out that Bruce knew more than he let on and that this whole alien contact thing would relate to Kory somehow but it didn't come to me! I would totally understand if any flames were coming...but I want you guys to know that I really did try and make this make sense...and 10:47 was as in 10-74...November 1974...

The end.

--HPFan1994


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